Vocaloid Tales: The Summer and Winter Garden
by Kai-P
Summary: In a small village, Miku Hatsune grew up scared of "Demon Prince" tales. But the Demon Prince is real – Prince Kaito, a man cursed with a monster's form for breaking the fairy Luka's heart. When fate leads to Miku spending all winter at his castle, he and his ghostly knight Gakupo think they might have a chance to end the curse for good! But can shallow Miku come to love a beast?
1. Chapter 1: The Summer Garden

**Chapter 1: The Summer Garden**

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><p><em>I wrote a Vocaloid fanfic. Yea, I'm wayyyyy too into this fandom now. It's a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, using the title from one of many folk tales that formed the version most of us are familiar with. I guess this is *technically* a shipping fic, but I really just cast the characters however I felt worked best for the story. Kaito is playing the Beast, Miku is playing the Beauty, and beyond that, there isn't as much you can predict. My #1 rule in writing this is - no Disney! Because everyone is expecting it! But now might be a good time to read as many versions of the original story as you can find so you can spot the references. I'm actually four chapters into this, but to keep myself honest, I'm going to put them out once a week so I can stay ahead of the story and have it completed in a timely manner.<em>

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><p><em>Once upon a time, a young prince lived in a glorious kingdom. His people coddled him so that he never wanted for anything, and he became selfish and unkind. One winter's eve, the victim of his cruelty turned out to be a powerful fairy whose heart he callously broke. She transformed him into a hideous beast as punishment so all who looked upon him might see the true evil within his heart. His kingdom fell into disrepair and to this day he lurks in the ruins of his castle, hidden from the world…<em>

_Some say he must learn true love to break his curse, and he kidnaps beautiful maidens from their homes in the hope of one of them finally being the one to free him. But so horrifying a monster is he that no soul could ever love him…_

"Then…then what happens?!"

The blond haired boy flashed a devious grin.

"And then, when he gets tired of all their screaming…he COOKS THEM UP AND GOBBLES THEM WHOLE!"

The volume of Len's voice jumped so suddenly that all the girls around him started screaming. Len couldn't but laugh. It was so easy to scare the other children in the village with the "Demon Prince" legend.

Especially a particular little girl with long turquoise pigtails.

"Miku, Miku, I'll bet he comes for you first!"

Miku's eyes went wide and she suddenly started bawling. Len grimaced at the ear-splitting sound – he'd probably gone too far with the ending this time.

A slap on the back of his head from a tall brunette confirmed that. "Ahhhh! Meiko, big sis! Whyyyyy?!"

"Ugh, do I have to even tell you why? They're not going to stop bawling for an hour."

"Miku, what is it now?!"

Miku ran into the arms of her father. "Papa, I don't wanna get gobbled up by a monster! I'm too cute to die like that!"

Her father picked up the little girl and hugged her tightly. She was already ten summers old and yet she still easily startled at the ghost stories until he could calm her down.

Meiko, at the ripe old age of 12, often saw herself as the "big sister" to the other children in the village, hence their nickname of "Big Sis". An only child, she'd appointed herself their caretaker…and sometimes, their nanny. Right now, she had her arms crossed and she was glaring at Len. "Len! Go apologize to your sister for scaring her half to death! Then apologize to Miku!"

Len looked he wanted to protest, but the demonic glare Meiko was giving him made him think twice about it. "Okay, okay..."

He walked over to his sister Rin, who was still trembling but not putting on quite the spectacle of Miku. "Sorry Rin…" he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head where Meiko had smacked him.

He walked over to Miku, who looked down at him with such a ridiculously over dramatic face that he almost started laughing again. It took every bit of fortitude of his 8 years to get the apology out. "Sorry Miku…"

Miku's father gave her a pat on the back of the head. "There, see? He was just telling stories. You know how Len is."

"Daddy, is the Demon Prince real?! Does he really eat people!?"

Her father let out a sigh. "I've told you a hundred times, Miku…it's just a story."

But as he cast his gaze out on the tree line at the edge of the town, he grew more serious. "That said…it's dangerous to play out in the deep woods. There may not be a ghost or a monster out there, but there's certainly wolves and other dangerous creatures in there."

Miku snuggled into her father's chest. She hated scary stories, she hated the idea of being gobbled up, and most importantly, she hated, hated, HATED the Demon Prince. Even if he didn't eat people, surely someone who got himself turned into a monster was a cruel, heartless person.

She knew that life was simple – ugly things were bad, beautiful things were good. And since she was so beautiful, and the monster so ugly, he would not doubt come for her first.

"Now Miku, why don't we go down to the dress maker and see about getting you something nice to wear?"

All mental images of the Demon Prince vanished as Miku imagined herself in a frilly new summer dress. "Dress maker, dress maker, yay yay yay!"

"That idiot girl doesn't have a deep thought in her head…" Len mumbled to himself.

Yet as the summers passed in the village of Melodia and the children grew older, Miku found herself at 17 summers of age and still obsessed with finery and beauty. Whenever anyone would ask her what she wanted out of life, she was distressingly superficial.

"I want to marry a rich, handsome guy! No, a prince! And then I can sing all over the world!"

Her father, a widowed merchant, saw her as his shining jewel and tried to cater to her every whim as she grew older. Yet over the years, his fortunes waned and eventually he had to tighten the purse strings to keep his home secure. Which meant no more spontaneous trips to the dress shop.

As Miku approached adulthood, she'd taken up simple employment to keep the family coffers filled. She now worked as a courier, moving packages around the city. It wasn't taxing work, but it kept her family of two fed between shipments. And once in awhile, she could even spring for a new set of sheet music for her piano.

Though many people lamented Miku's lack of depth, none could find fault with her glorious singing voice. Everyone knew when she was making her rounds in the village just by following the sound of her practicing a new melody. Inevitably they'd see her roaming with her package cart, her now ankle-length pigtails trailing behind her and her soft white dress ruffling with her perky footsteps.

Though this fine morning she wasn't singing – she was chatting with "Big Sis" Meiko.

"You know, Miku…you're not going to meet your 'prince' or become a singer if you just hang around Melodia dropping off packages…"

Meiko had grown into a fine young woman herself, now apprenticing in her family's winery. Thus she wore practical, red work clothes during the day when she was tending to the fields. Yet despite no longer being a child herself, she still felt responsible for the children she grew up with.

"Awww, don't say that Meiko!" Miku protested with a pout, "I mean, I know he's not just going to march in here riding a white horse and demand the hand of the first pretty maiden he sees…"

Meiko nodded, with relief. "Good, then you understand…now, I think…"

"But if he did, I know he'd choose ME!"

Meiko slapped her forehead. "You don't understand anything…" she lamented.

But Miku wasn't finished yet. "Look, I know I won't find much in the way of work in a little village that doesn't even have a theater," Miku added, "But just you wait! I'm going head to a big city like Arlisia! With a huge theater and a port bringing in all kinds of people!"

She let out a dreamy sigh. "No doubt I'll have my pick of princes! And the one for me will be lured in by my siren song and graceful beauty…"

Her friend burst into laughter. "Miku, you're going to get picked clean in the big city. Just you wait!"

Fortunately, Miku didn't need to wait too long for her first big opportunity. For later that afternoon, word reached her home of the arrival of another trade shipment in Arlisia. Filled with confidence after her conversation with Meiko, Miku almost immediately volunteered to pick it up.

Her father nearly fainted at the thought of his darling, only daughter vanishing into the wilderness. He may not have believed in the stories of the "Demon Prince", but he clearly believed _something_ was out there. And if it wasn't in the forest, surely some rogue or pickpocket would cause her trouble on the road.

"Oh, Papa!" Miku scolded, "Fine, if it'll make you happy, I'll just go straight in, grab the goods, and head out the same night!"

She sighed dejectedly. "I just hope I can at least GLIMPSE the theater."

Finally, with her promise to make no diversions on her journey, Miku set off on the road the next morning with her family's horse and an empty cart and her father's worried well wishes.

Miku found herself fascinated by the woods as she followed the road deeper and deeper inside. Because of all the stories, she'd been afraid to set more than two feet out of the village as a child. But here she was, a big grown up girl on an adventure!

She puffed up her chest with pride. "And Papa said I couldn't handle this," she said as she felt the bumping of the cart and horse going over the only bridge out of town, "Arlisia is simple! Just follow the road and I'll be there by nightfall!"

Yet as she followed the well-worn road, her eyes diverted to a fork in that road, nearly completely covered by trees. She gulped at the foreboding sight – why had nobody told her about _that_ road? As far as she knew, there was not a soul for miles between Melodia and Arlisia…but people didn't build roads for nothing.

_His kingdom fell into disrepair and to this day he lurks in the ruins of his castle, hidden from the world…_

Miku began to shake as her mind conjured up every horrible memory of the stories she grew up with. She tried to reassure herself. "It's…it's just a story…of course it is…just a story! It's just an old road and I don't need to worry about it."

And so with a shiver, she tried to keep her eyes on the road and let the road less traveled pass her by. To calm her nerves, she began quietly singing a nursery rhyme she remembered from her childhood…

"_Po-ppi-po-ppi-po-ppo-ppi-pou… Po-ppi-po-ppi-po-ppo-ppi-pou"_

By the time she'd finished the song, she'd already put the detour out of her mind and began focusing on her first trip to Arlisia.

The bustling port town appeared magnificent, especially to the relatively sheltered Miku. Her eyes lit up as she passed the theater on the way to the port. She yearned to spend time there and see a real singer light up the stage, but she scolded herself. If she was even a minute late, surely her father wasn't letting her out of the house again until he was dead and buried. And given that the man appeared healthy as a horse, she guess that could be years.

And so she had to let the gorgeous lights of the theater pass her by. "Patience, Miku…" she assured herself, "This is just a preview! For your future greatness of course!"

She giggled as she imagined herself in a sparkling dress at the center of attention, singing her heart out to her adoring fans. Suddenly a handsome man wearing silk finery and smelling of the finest perfumes would approach her backstage, offer her a rose and ask her the most important question in the world…

"Which ship are you here for, girly?"

Miku blinked, staring at the greasy owner of the port. "Oh! Uh…Hatsune! I'm here on behalf of Hatsune!"

She shuddered as the merchant looked her over. He was portly and balding and most definitely _not_ a prince. "Ah, you must be that daughter he's always talking about."

He laughed and Miku winced. Even his laughter felt unpleasant and rough. "Always going on about you. So, first trip to the city?"

She nodded, not wishing to speak more than she had to. "Not a big shipment this time. No wonder he figured you could handle it."

Miku let out a sigh. Another small shipment meant she was going to be eating a lot more bread and a lot less steak. "Just load it up," she muttered.

By the time her shipment was ready to go, it was late enough that Miku checked herself into a local inn. She remembered the name of the one her father instructed her to go to, and she marched herself straight up the stairs into the bed. She wanted little to do with the people here – but next time, she would surely have enough money and time to go to the theater.

Miku had pleasant dreams once again of lighting up the Arlisian stage with her beauty. By the time the rays of sun awoke her, she felt rejuvenated for the journey home. She couldn't wait to tell everyone back home about Arlisia and boy wouldn't that jerk Len be jealous….

She'd made it out of Arlisia early in the morning – better time than she'd expected. Her father would be pleased – maybe he'd at least grab a few green onions for the supper stew as a reward? Regardless, she was in high spirits as she crossed the path from yesterday…

….and noticed the fork in the road from the day before had been completely cleared.

Miku blinked. Who'd come all the way out here just to clean out some trees?

She craned her head with curiosity towards the forest path, trying to make out something, anything.

Yet she had trouble seeing much of anything from the safety of the main road. She tried to divert her attention back to the trip home. "Come on Miku, buck up! Think about all those tasty onions you might get out of Papa!"

She started to lift the reigns of the horse to put that fork out of her mind for a second time before letting out a frustrated sigh. "Agh! I've gotta know what's down there! I mean, it's like someone cleared it out just for me!"

And with that, Miku ignored her father's most sincere instructions to follow the main road and started her cart up the mysterious path.

As she traveled deeper down this odd road, the air around her grew oppressive. She started having flashbacks to her childhood.

_The Demon Prince enslaves pretty young maidens to break his curse…_

"Oooo…and I'm the prettiest young maiden in the entire country…." she shivered.

She had half a mind to turn the cart around when she heard something odd. It sounded like a deep voice, singing a mournful melody she couldn't _quite_ make out the words to.

The most beautiful voice Miku had ever heard.

As she followed the echoes of the song in the woods, she started to see a castle overgrown with moss and vines and overlooking a small, calm lake. Her heart pounded – there was only _one reason_ she could find a castle out here, but she had to know the source of that enchanting voice. She reached a clearing and hopped off her horse, letting it graze as she continued to follow the voice.

Every bit of sense Miku had in her head told her should _not_ be investigating a strange castle in supposedly haunted woods. But as she carefully moved through a grown over gate, she let out a gasp. Before her spread an entire array of meticulously kept blue rose bushes.

She let out a giggle as she tiptoed towards one of the bushes. "Oh, it's just a rose…I know nobody will mind if I take juuuuuust one…"

Miku daintily knelt down. With care to not disturb the rest of the flowers, she separated a single rose from its stem and slipped it into her hair, at the base of one of her pigtails. She pulled a hand mirror out of her purse and smiled as she admired her own reflection. Shades of blue always worked for her.

Suddenly Miku noticed a silence in the garden – the singing she'd followed ceased. She looked around nervously. Weren't there also stories about monsters that chased down and killed people who grabbed even a _single_ rose from their garden?

"A ha ha ha….that's silly Miku…" she laughed nervously, "Who'd throw a tantrum over a flower, anyway?!"

Then she caught a glimpse of _him_.

A man in a deep blue jacket, blue waist coat, white shirt and ascot, black pants, and tall black boots stood before her. His jacket and boots were lined with gold. But Miku wasn't really paying that much attention to his clothes.

She was far too caught up in the fact that his eyes were red and black, his skin dark black and covered with scales, his ears pointed, and his enormous hands ended in sharp claws. Two thick, pearl-white horns jutted out of his deep blue hair, sweeping backwards to form a short spiral towards the back of his head.

As he moved to speak, she caught one look at a pair of fangs and didn't even wait to hear him say a single word.

"OH MY GOD DON'T EAT ME I'M SORRY I TOOK YOUR FLOWER I'M TOO CUTE AND TALENTED TO DIIEEEEEEE!"

Miku was shrieking at the top of her lungs. Right in front of her was the creature that inhabited her childhood nightmares and she did _not_ want to stay and get gobbled up. She leapt to her feet and bolted out of the garden, still screaming all the way. She spotted her horse and quickly mounted the confused animal. With a kick to the sides, it was taking off, just barely hanging on to the load in her cart.

Miku kept glancing behind her. She couldn't see the Demon Prince chasing her. As she found the main road and her cart went clacking over the bridge at top speed, she looked behind her again. Not a sign of a pursuer.

She landed back in town, still filled with fear but a sense of triumph began to fill her heart. She, Miku Hatsune, had just become the first beautiful maiden to escape the Demon Prince.

"WOOHOO!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, pumping her fists in the air "I did it!"

She heard peals of laughter as the other villagers caught sight of her. "Wow, congratulations Miku," Len drawled sarcastically, "You took a shopping trip to Arlisia by yourself. Better call the bard."

Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. She tried to think of what to say. "No, you don't get it! I just met the Demon Prince! And I escaped!"

"And why exactly did you meet the 'Demon Prince?'"

Her _father's_ voice. Miku gulped. She couldn't say a word about the "Demon Prince" or he'd know she ignored his instructions.

"I….um…."

Her father was interrupted by Rin, who seemed enchanted by Miku's appearance. "Miku, where did you find a rose like that?! It's so pretty! I've never seen a blue rose before!"

Miku touched a hand to her head. In her panicked flight, the rose miraculously hadn't fallen. But she couldn't tell the truth in front of her father…she needed to think up a good lie…

"Oh….um….an Arlisian boy gave it to me!"

She patted her chest with confidence. "Because he said I was so much more beautiful than any maiden he'd ever seen in the whole world that I _deserved_ it!"

Her father didn't look convinced, but he seemed ready to drop the subject. "As long as you didn't spend _all_ of your allowance in the city…I suppose there's worse things you could have spent money on than roses."

Miku was grumbling as she led her horse and goods back to her father's storehouse. 'Thanks a lot, Demon Prince…scare me half to death AND make me look like an idiot! Ooo, you better hope I never catch you again!'

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><p>"Well Prince Kaito…she was a lively one, wasn't she?"<p>

Kaito didn't respond to the words of the purple haired samurai nearby, instead staring at the space where a few moments earlier another human being had been standing. That strange girl had literally been the _first_ new human he'd seen in years. And without even letting him speak, she was already gone, leaving not a trace of her visit in her wake save for her dropped hand mirror and the rose she'd escaped with.

"I'm more surprised she came through the road out here…" he murmured, "Wasn't it covered in trees by now, Gakupo?"

The samurai sharpened his blade. "Perhaps one of the locals trimmed them back."

The Prince focused his gaze on the direction their visitor had fled to. "I shouldn't be surprised she took off like that…" he said softly, "Since she seemed to like the flowers so much, I just wanted to tell her she could have as many roses as she liked."

Even given the horrified reaction of the guest, Kaito admitted to himself that finally seeing another face at least broke up his isolation a little. Besides, she hadn't behaved any differently than the others who stumbled in.

So why did the rejection hurt so much _more_ this time?

He knelt to the ground and grasped the hand mirror. As he caught sight of himself, his eyes betrayed a brief flicker of emotion before he placed it into his coat. He reflected on how innocently she'd taken one of his precious roses and placed it in her hair, like a child.

Maybe he'd hoped that childlike innocence would extend to him.

"_Until one loves you as truly as I_…" he whispered.

The same words he'd repeated day after day. Such a simple phrase that kept him trapped in a walking nightmare.

"Well…I guess that was the last we'll see of her," Kaito said before retreating back into his gardens.

As his master walked out of his sight, Gakupo pulled out a cloth and wiped off the last of the tree sap on his sword. He stared out at the pathway. He highly doubted a girl with that much curiosity would vanish from their lives _that _quickly. He was certain, in fact – she would be returning.

He would have gone right now to fetch her save for the obvious fact that he'd accompanied her from the woods to the gardens without her even being able to see him. She'd looked straight at him several times, in fact. He'd gotten lucky that Kaito had been struck with a rare singing mood – he'd been about to try and spook the horse into the garden before he saw her interest pique. But even as he'd stood right behind her as she played with a rose in her hair, he cast no reflection in her hand mirror. To her, as to everyone else save for his master, Gakupo simply didn't _exist_.

Perhaps he was being overly optimistic – while his master seemed to have given up any hope of ending their curse, Gakupo was more than willing to give everything a forceful shove in the right direction.

Kaito wasn't the only one suffering. Nor was Gakupo.

An entire kingdom vanished on the day Luka Megurine confessed her love to the Prince who broke her heart.

_Until one loves you as truly as I._


	2. Chapter 2: The Frozen Lake

**Chapter 2: The Frozen Lake**

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><p><em>Happy Wednesday!<em>

_I got some feedback on Miku's personality here at - I'm glad that it's been positive. When I decided I wanted Miku as the Beauty, I was reading a lot of the Vocaloid doujins where her personality is extremely off the wall and sometimes very selfish or childish. I've tried to reel her in to work as a three-dimensional character for a more serious narrative (vs. the simple comedy of the doujins), but having such a non-traditional Beauty has been a joy to write. Especially contrasted with how serious Kaito is in this story._

_So far the story is on track to continue these weekly chapter releases. I intend to shoot for Wednesday as the drop date, though that may shift to earlier or later in a week if something comes up. I actually just wrapped the first draft of Chapter 7 tonight, and expect the story to have a total of 10 nice meaty 5000 - 6000 word chapters given the outline. Hope you can handle waiting that long for the full story, but I promise, it will actually be done and isn't it nice once in awhile to read a fanfic that didn't get dropped halfway through?_

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><p>Miku tried to put her frightful encounter far out of her mind and for about a week, she succeeded. She would reflect on how beautiful the city of Arlisia was and return to her simpler dreams about being a singer in that fantastic theater and snagging her prince. Thoughts of the "Prince" she <em>had<em> met she promptly shoved out of her conscious mind.

Unfortunately, she underestimated the curiosity of the Kagamine twins. After all, Len heard her bragging about escaping the Demon Prince before her father showed up. And both he and his sister, Rin, were still young enough to believe in the stories the rest of the village discarded as fairy tales. Such a tantalizing deal dangling in their faces became too much for them to try and keep to themselves.

As the week passed, one twin or the other would start pestering her during the day, desperate for her to relate her encounter. Despite Miku's best attempts to brush them off, they remained persistent. By the end of the week, they'd finally decided to team up and try to overwhelm her until she gave up the story.

Just as Miku wrapped up her last package delivery, she saw her path blocked by two familiar blondes, their yellow outfits near mirrors of each other save for Rin's frilly skirt and Len's long pants.

"Come on, Miku! You can't just say 'I saw the Demon Prince!' and expect me to believe it!" Len protested.

Rin looked more curious than angry. "I just want to know…what he was really like! Is he going to come back? He's not going to eat us, is he?"

Miku let out a huge sigh. "Okay, okay, fine!" she said, trying to keep her voice down, "But you have to promise not to tell ANYONE! I'm going to get in so much trouble if Papa finds out…"

Len let out a whoop of victory before being shushed by his sister. Miku looked around to make sure the coast was clear and she began to describe her strange detour in grand detail. As her story finished with her panicked flight from the Demon Prince's garden, the twins looked to each other, nodding their understanding. They appeared to believe her story.

"Right off the main road to Arlisia all this time…and nobody ever knew!" Len looked excited, "I can't believe he's real! So what'd he look like?!"

Miku thought back to her monstrous encounter and shivered. "He had this black scaly skin…and he had these huge hands with sharp claws on them…he could have torn me apart in seconds!"

"Did he have fangs too?! And horns?!"

Len seemed far too excited. Miku grabbed her sides and shuddered. "His horns came right out of his blue hair, like a devil! And oh…I started running just looking at those fangs…"

"Oh…now I wish I'd gone! Maybe if I slipped out of the village, I could bust into his garden and…"

"NO!"

Both Miku and Rin shouted at Len at the same time. "Aw, I was just kidding…" he grumbled, though the expression on his face gave away his eagerness to meet a monster in the flesh.

"So you said he chased you away?" Rin asked.

Miku hesitated. "Well…not exactly…" she said, pressing the tips of her index fingers together, "actually, now that I think of it…he didn't follow me at all."

Rin seemed perplexed. "So what did he say to you? Was he angry about the rose?"

"I…uh…didn't actually let him say anything before I ran off…"

Rin's eyes lowered. "So basically, you broke into his garden, stole one of his roses, and when he tried to talk to you, you screamed in his face and ran away?"

To her great surprise, now Miku found herself feeling guilty when the story sounded like _that_. "W…well…I mean…it's not like I wanted to stay and find out…he's supposed to be a girl-eating monster, you know?"

Rin seemed satisfied with that answer, though she also appeared somewhat sad. With Len's queries resolved for more than enough new stories to scare children with, the twins departed, leaving Miku alone to ruminate on her actions.

'Well, wasn't he about to kill me?' Miku thought to herself, 'That's what monsters do to pretty things, right? They break them.'

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><p>And so the summer's heat faded as weeks turned into months and Miku remained within Melodia delivering packages and mail. Her only memento of her encounter remained her rose, which to her surprise never wilted. She'd passed it off to her father as a memento of her first big city expedition. But every time she looked at it, she thought back to what Rin had asked her.<p>

Did anyone _really_ know anything about the Demon Prince? Most of the people of Melodia thought he was a fairy tale used to keep children from venturing too deep into dangerous woodlands. They didn't even know what he looked like, let alone what he did with his time.

And surely if he really wanted to kidnap young girls, wouldn't he just storm the village and make off with them? Having seen his frightening presence before her, Miku doubted any human could actually fight him off. Yet when she saw him in the flesh, he'd stood calmly and quietly while she played around like a child with something that didn't belong to her.

Yet she'd always remind herself of what she'd been taught about good and evil – maybe he was being calm then, but he'd done something terrible to become the ugly creature he was now. His face reflected his true heart, and she probably _was_ lucky to get away from him. Though she probably shouldn't have stolen a rose from him without asking, running away from him had to be the smartest answer rather than letting a monster hurt her.

And so as the chilling winds of winter eventually swept through Melodia, Miku continued her courier's work, convinced she'd committed no crime. After all, it wasn't like she'd ever be crazy enough to march back into the Demon Prince's garden again. One stolen memento would have to satisfy her curiosity.

Except fate has a way of leading us down unusual paths.

As Miku finished her mail rounds, her father frantically ran towards her, an envelope clutched tightly in his hands. Not that Miku never delivered mail for her father, but the look on his face gave her alarm. "Miku!" he pleaded, pressing the envelope into her hands, "This letter! It must reach Arlisia by nightfall!"

Her eyes widened. "What in the world is it!?" she exclaimed, "The Arlisian carrier already left for the day!"

As her father caught his breath, Miku looked the envelope over with care. "It's a supply list for the winter shipment" he gasped, "I found it on the desk an hour ago. If I don't get this out, we'll be ruined come spring…"

He looked pleading to his daughter. "Miku, I know you're quick and I know I can trust you," he said, "This letter must reach my partner in Arlisia as soon as possible. Before the snow fall cuts us off from the port for the winter!"

Miku clutched the envelope tightly. On the one hand, she was going to see Arlisia again and her heart raced. On the other...

"I'll grab the mail horse and be off in no time!" she assured her father. As long as the Demon Prince stayed in his own castle, she was sure she would be fine.

"Just be careful if the snows fall," her father warned her. He gave her a small sack of coins and clutched her hands tightly. "That should provide for you in Arlisia until the snow melts. Just in case. But hopefully you won't need it…we should have a few more days."

"You're trusting me all by myself!? In the big city?!" Miku thought her father must have gone mad, not that she was going to complain.

"I trust you to use your judgement and not waste the money."

Miku felt a stab of daughterly guilt. Her sense of responsibility required her to behave. "Yes, Papa," she sighed.

Her father stayed at the village's edge until his daughter was entirely out of sight. The entire time, he prayed to the spirits for her safe journey.

Miku arrived in Arlisia at sunset and she just barely caught the recipient of her letter as he closed up shop. He offered her a warm guest's bed and meal for the night as compensation for his partner's daughter, and she gladly accepted not needing to spend another night in an inn with scary people.

Despite yearning to stop in that grand theater, the foreboding dark sky meant only one thing – the winter snows could start at any moment. She couldn't take a chance of being stranded away from family, having to fend for herself in a strange city for months on end. 'No', she decided, 'I'm sure the horse and I can get out of here fast enough to beat the snow to Melodia…'

She regretted her haste out of Arlisia when the strong winds of a blizzard kicked up as she barreled down the road. As the familiar paths slowly became coated with white, Miku realized she couldn't tell where she was riding anymore. She looked for road markers, footprints, anything, but the snow masked all of them. To her eyes, every tree looked the same.

The ferocious blizzard chilled her through her dress – she hadn't packed a proper coat or scarf in her haste, and every gust felt like a dozen knives slashing at her face. She pressed on in the woods but panic began to set in as she realized she'd become hopelessly lost. The howls of wolves reminded her that even if she was lost, there were plenty of dangers that knew the woods well. Her horse began to tire, and Miku feared having to try and walk through snow up to her knees.

Before all hope was lost, Miku began to make out the shape of a building in the distance. She hoped somebody lived there that had a warm fire and some food, but frankly at this point she would settle for somewhere out of the wind's icy grasp.

As Miku approached the old building, she noted the moss coverings with resentment. Clearly, it had been abandoned for some time. There would be no food or fire. 'Hopefully it's still sealed,' she thought, 'this is my only chance!"

She pressed her body against the thick wooden door which clearly hadn't been opened in many years. When it wouldn't budge, she gritted her teeth and charged at it with her shoulder. The solid jolt made her cry out in pain, but she felt the rust give and she kicked the door open.

Tying her horse up to a post, she wandered inside the empty house. Rows of bunk beds lined each wall, and she spied a small stove and kitchen area towards the back. Given how many beds there were and the size of the dining area, she guessed that perhaps a long time ago, this cottage had been used to house servants. She couldn't imagine what kind of person would need so many people.

Miku laid down against the wall and shivered. She didn't know the first thing about finding firewood or food, but right now, she just wanted to rest. She closed her eyes and exhaustion quickly overtook her…

* * *

><p>As soon as Kaito heard the cracking sound of someone forcing open the door to the servant's house, he'd thrown on his white overcoat and blue scarf and marched outside. Here he'd managed to go years without any intrusions into his home, and now two mere months apart. As he heard footsteps behind him, he realized Gakupo had been alerted to the commotion as well. "Probably just someone from the road trying to get some shelter," he called out to his Master.<p>

Kaito didn't disagree, but he needed to make certain that's all they wanted. It wouldn't be the first time some less savory characters broke onto the property. He couldn't deny the rush he felt at the chance to see another human again. Ever since the "Miku" girl left, Kaito couldn't get their momentary meeting out of his mind. Just being acknowledged by someone besides a ghost reminded him of how much he needed the company of others. He'd spent months trying to recall every detail about her, wondering how he could have changed his approach to keep her from fleeing in terror so he might have actually spoken to her.

The only memento he had of that encounter remained the hand mirror he kept in a dresser drawer. Normally he'd have gotten rid of it – he loathed mirrors, or more specifically, what he saw whenever he gazed into one. But this was a keepsake.

As he stomped through the snow towards the house, he saw the horse start at him, though it quickly ignored him as his manner showed no aggression.

Finally he approached the door, still cracked open. He stilled his footsteps, hoping not to scare off another guest quite so soon. His shadow cast across the floor, creating a silhouette of his horns.

As the dim light creeping through the door slowly illuminated the room, Kaito couldn't believe his eyes. There, slumbering against a wall, was the "Miku" girl.

"What is she…does she even know where she is…" Kaito started to say before he noticed her stir and silenced his voice.

Gakupo, silent to all but his master, casually strolled into the room and let out a hearty laugh. "And here you thought you'd never see her again!"

Kaito slipped in quietly, still in awe of seeing the pigtailed beauty again. He dared not make a sound – he'd already lost her once. As his breath chilled in the air, he realized the house was still far too cold, Noting that her skin appeared paler, he guessed she'd lost herself in the blizzard and sought safety in the first building she could find. 'She must not have recognized the trails in the blizzard,' he thought to himself, 'After our _last_ encounter, I doubt she'd voluntarily come back to a demon-infested castle.'

He motioned to Gakupo to come closer and he whispered something into his ear. "Grab some of the firewood and kindling while I get her into one of these beds."

His companion nodded and departed, quietly shutting the door to the house as he did so. Kaito approached Miku more slowly. She'd freeze if she remained on the floor like this, but he needed to be delicate. He walked over to the closest bunk bed and pulled back the sheets. Fortunately, while he could hardly call them "clean", they seemed to still be in good enough condition to keep someone warm.

The next step required more delicacy. Carefully he gathered up Miku's body in his arms, trying to be as gentle as possible. She remained silent as he did so and with her small body pressed up again his, he could feel how cold she'd gotten. With a few soft steps laid her atop the thatch mattress and pulled up the sheets. "Ahhh… Miku is the diva of the stage…" she murmured in her sleep, unconsciously clutching the bedsheets close to her.

Kaito tried not to laugh at her innocent sleeptalk, lest he disturb that very slumber. As he straightened out the blankets, he cringed as he saw one of his clawed hands next to her porcelain smooth skin. 'Something like me doesn't even deserve to touch her…' he thought to himself as he withdrew his hand.

As Gakupo returned with the fire wood, Kaito had the stove lit quickly. Miku's color improved as her body warmed in the heat of the stove and from the comfortable bed she slept in.

"Anything else, Prince?" Gakupo asked, "Would you like me to keep an eye on her until she wakes up?"

Kaito took a seat on the bed across from Miku's. "No…I'll keep watch. It's fine," he whispered.

The purple-haired samurai cocked an eyebrow at his lord. "Are you sure that's wise?" he asked, "What do you intend to do when she wakes up?"

The prince shook his head. "One of us needs to clear her a path back to the road. I can't do that in a blizzard without freezing to death but…"

Gakupo sighed as he guessed at Kaito's meaning. "Well, since I don't exactly have a body to chill, I'll take care of it then," he said.

His companion left him as Kaito continued to silently stand vigil over Miku. This time, he wanted to take in everything he could about this enchanting girl. No doubt when she awoke, she'd leave and go home to her family and that would be the last time he'd ever see her. He couldn't simply "keep" her. She was a person, with feelings and free will. And so, since he knew how preciously short their time together would be, he wanted to remember as much as he could. It could be a decade or more before he saw another human again.

Miku appeared to still shiver. The room didn't seem to be warming fast enough. Kaito slipped off his thick overcoat and laid it over her bed, hoping to help her gain body heat more quickly from another layer of clothing. He shivered himself, but as he tugged his scarf closer to his face, he knew he'd be warm soon enough. She looked like she needed it more in the first place. He crossed his arms, leaned back against the wall, and continued to watch as the strange pigtailed girl slept calmly…

* * *

><p>"<em>You cannot escape."<em>

_He saw the pink-haired fairy hovering over him with an accusatory face._

"_You have no sense of love, no pity!"_

"_Luka, you don't understand! Please, whatever you're doing-"_

"_I curse you! Until one loves you as truly I, you and your kingdom shall suffer for your monstrous heart!"_

_A burning sensation filled his body as it warped and changed, his clear skin covered in black scales, his hands becoming large and clawed, his teeth growing sharp and dangerous, enormous white horns painfully sprouting out of the sides of his head…_

"_You will never find that person. You will live the rest of your days walking an empty kingdom… every human who ever looks upon your face will run in terror…"_

_Her laughter echoed around him as he collapsed to the ground, the horror of his situation wearing down against him. He was a monster, he was alone, and nothing would ever change that._

"_No one will ever love you…my Demon Prince."_

* * *

><p>Kaito snapped back to consciousness as screams filled the house. He cursed to himself – he had drifted off in the comfort of the heat and silence, and had yet to clear himself out before Miku awoke. The girl's face was white with fear. He tried to speak to calm her down, to assure her he wouldn't hurt her, but just as last time, she cut him off as soon as he opened his mouth.<p>

"I'm sorry about the flower I stole! I'm sorry!" she screamed, tears filling her eyes, "Please don't kill me Demon Prince! I'd taste terrible!"

She bolted out of the bed and rushed out the door. "See, I'm leaving right now! I won't take anything else, I won't even abuse your hospitality! You don't have to punish me, I'm sorryyyyyyy!"

Kaito started to pursue her, but she'd already mounted her horse and begun to ride away. As he watched those pretty pigtails whipping around in the wind, he realized it was hopeless – try as he might, he struck too frightening of an image in the eyes of Miku.

Though his heart ached at being rejected again, he decided he was okay with it – he couldn't even get a word out without frightening such a delicate person. It was better to let her go home and forget him and lead a life free of monsters and demons. He was going to have to content himself with watching her ride away and out of his life for good…

…until he saw Gakupo rushing towards him with panic in his face. "My Lord! The bridge! The blizzard took out the bridge! You have to stop her!"

Kaito's eyes widened. He didn't know if he could keep up with the horse, but he had to try. He ran out of the house without even grabbing his overcoat and gave chase. The only upside to his terrifying form was its speed.

* * *

><p>Miku's heart was thumping through her chest. He stared <em>right at her<em> and the stove was even burning! That Demon Prince was ready to make a meal out of her and she'd stupidly stumbled right into a trap because she'd been so careless in a storm.

"What did a beautiful girl like me do to deserve all this?!" she cried. She looked over her shoulder, hoping she'd be lucky enough for him not to pursue her again.

The Demon Prince was _right behind her_, just barely keeping pace with her horse. She locked eyes with him and shrieked again.

"BACK! BACK MONSTER!" she shouted, now even more terrified. She must have _really_ made him mad this time if he wasn't letting her go!

This time her path through the snow was clear. She had no time to consider _why_ the road was clear, she only cared that she could make out the landmarks she needed to find her way back home. She approached the gorge where she knew the bridge would carry her to safety and far away from the enraged monster...

"MIKU! MIKU STOP!"

_He knew her name_.

"Faster horsey, FASTER!" she cried out, thoroughly scared for her life.

Just as Miku's horse prepared to jump to the bridge, a blue and black blue form leapt in front of it. The horse bucked as it was startled and Miku desperately clung to the frightened creature's neck to stop from taking a spill into the snow.

The Demon Prince had overtaken them!

Miku prepared to try and leap around him and escape when she finally saw, to her horror, that there _was_ no solid bridge. The planks had collapsed into the gorge under the force of the snow and wind. She _might_ have been able to tiptoe across, with enough time and dedication, but the horse couldn't make and somehow she knew the Demon Prince could probably do it faster.

She yanked at the reigns and tried to correct the horse. With a solid jerk, she was back on the road to Arlisia. "If I can get back there, I can find my father's partner again! If I can just get back to the city! As long as the blizzard didn't snow over the path!"

Unfortunately, the snow hadn't been cleared out that far. Miku lost sight of the road and tried to retrace her steps back into the snow. She saw her pursuer gaining ground again and jerked the reigns to run back into the trees. "Oh….please trees, keep hiding me from him…"

* * *

><p>Clearly the girl was so disoriented she hadn't realized she was running straight back to the castle grounds she'd just escaped from. Kaito tried to figure out where she was trying to go – did she mean to return to the port city? Did she not know the road was too snowed in by now?<p>

Her trajectory was taking her straight to the lake. He panicked when he saw a threat she clearly remained unaware of and struggled to close the distance between them to protect her…

* * *

><p>As Miku approached the shore, she heard a snarling sound just to her right side. Thinking the Demon Prince had caught her, she was surprised to see a wolf fly through the air towards her. She screamed as she was knocked from her horse, rolling down the snow covered hill and onto the surface of the ice. As it moved to pounce on her again, she could make out the shapes of more wolves coming for her.<p>

'I'm going to die…I'm going to die…' Miku thought as she saw the beast close in on her again. 'I'm going to die and I'm never going to see my friends and family again…'

She held up her arms weakly to protect herself, bracing herself for the feeling of sharp teeth against soft skin…

…only to hear a yelping sound as the wolf was thrown away from her.

Miku lowered her arms and saw an unlikely savior. Her nightmarish pursuer, the Demon Prince, was standing between her and the wolf pack that chased her onto the ice.

Clearly, they'd decided to pick a fight with _him_ instead as within moments the beasts set themselves upon him. The Demon Prince struggled to keep them back, but he clearly possessed inhuman strength as he kept hurling them away from himself.

"Go! Now!" he yelled, pushing another angry beast back with no effort, "Miku, get out of here! Go to the castle! You'll be safe there!"

Miku was in shock… hadn't he been trying to kill her? Wasn't he hunting her down as punishment for breaking into his home?! Why fight the wolves and beg her to flee to his own castle for safety?!

Unless…

"Please! Run! I can handle them!"

Miku scrambled to her feet and started running to the opposite shore on the lake, closer to the sanctuary of the castle. She didn't know what she'd do in there, but it would keep her safe from the wolves at least. And maybe give her some cover from the creature currently _fighting_ the wolves.

At first she didn't plan to even look back. But her conscience was nagging at her. The Demon Prince had now saved her life _twice_ – once from diving into a gorge, once from being eaten by wolves. Neither task would have been necessary had she not been riding around in blind terror in a snow-covered forest without direction. If he just wanted her to die, he'd have let her fall to her death or become a meal for the animals…

As Miku touched upon solid land, she turned to watch as the Demon Prince gained the upper hand against the wolf pack. She winced as he raked one of his enormous claws against the exposed side of a wolf that had tried to latch itself to his arm. It loosened its grip and fell, but still refused to back away from him.

He seemed to be winning despite being hideously outnumbered. 'I was right… if he can take on a wolf pack and survive, a group of humans would be nothing…'

Miku's eyes widened in horror as she glanced at the ice around his feet. She observed that the frozen lake no longer appeared as sturdy as before, likely due to the ferocity of the fight on its surface. Cracks began to form in the ice and she feared what would happen if it gave out…

* * *

><p>In spite of how beat up he was getting, Kaito hadn't felt this alive in ages. Adrenaline rushed through his veins as he defended himself from the onslaught of violent creatures that wanted nothing more than to tear him apart. He'd rarely noticed how strong this accursed body made him – he never felt the urge to rush out and kill something with it.<p>

He stole a quick glance as he saw Miku safely reach the shore. 'Good,' he thought, 'She'll get to safety…I'll figure out what to do about getting her home later…'

He heard her shouting to him.

"Look out, Prince! The ice is breaking!"

With a start, Kaito glanced to his feet just as he saw the ice finally give out under the weight of himself and the other wolves. Too late, he realized his careless error as he plunged into the icy depths.

For all the power he had, Kaito, the Demon Prince, couldn't swim. His head slipped below the surface as he struggled uselessly against the water. As his consciousness began to slip away from him, he found it ironic.

The day his life changed, his body burned with the fires of change.

The day his life would end, he would be completely numb…

* * *

><p>This time, when Miku screamed, it wasn't out of fear <em>of<em> the Demon Prince, but _for_ him. The wolves began to clear out as the ice weakened beneath them, and she waited for the Prince's head to raise from the water. After several horrible moments, she came to the horrible realization that he wasn't going to make it back out on his own.

Miku herself was one of the few people in her village who'd learned how to swim, during the long summers in Melodia where the children would play in the warm waters of the local springs. Meiko insisted all the children learn so they could help each other, and everyone else in the village.

But right now it wasn't a human drowning. It was a monster. _The_ monster, in fact. The monster who had done something so cruel and so terrible that he'd been cursed to live the rest of his life alone.

The monster that was going to die because he risked himself to save her life.

Her legs shaking, Miku rose to her feet. Anyone would call what she was about to do crazy, but she didn't care. She considered herself a good person – and a good person wouldn't let someone die out of fear. Not even the Demon Prince himself.

Miku leapt on to the ice, trying to feel out the weak spots so she didn't plunge through herself in her scramble to reach the drowning Prince. As she approached the hole, she could make out the swirling of his scarf in the water as his body sank deeper. Praying that her dress wouldn't weigh her down to the point of being unable to tread water, she held her breath and dove into the frigid lake.

The icy waters felt like thousands of needles pricking against her skin, yet Miku focused her eyes on the person she'd dove in to rescue. She quickly paddled her feet in the water and wrapped both arms around the unconscious Demon Prince. Fortunately, his body was far lighter than he looked, enough that she could use the buoyancy of the water to propel them both back to the surface even as her thick dress swirled around her feet. As her head broke through the surface of the water, she tried to thrust the Demon Prince's body onto the ice. At first she thought she wasn't strong enough when suddenly his body flew out of the water, as if pulled by an unseen force. 'No Miku…you're just stronger than you thought…the cold is getting to you…'

Miku prayed that the ice would hold her as she pulled her way back up into safety. Once out of the water, thoroughly soaked, she lay on her back for a few moments gasping for air. She felt chilled to the bone…but she'd survived.

She sat up and checked on the safety of her drowning victim. He was barely breathing and he appeared to be shivering.

"The house! There was a fire in the house!" she said, her teeth chattering, "I have to get him back there… before he… before he…"

Miku attempted to hoist him up on her back, but while he appeared light when she had the water to support him, on land and especially with layers of water-logged clothes, her was considerably slowed. She tried to remember the path to the house she'd sought shelter in. She spied a chimney with smoke rising out of it and tore over to it as quickly as she could. "Almost…there!" she shouted.

She burst into the guest house. The fire was still burning strong in the iron stove. She tried to prop the Demon Prince up near the heat, but as she saw the puddles of water around him, she realized that wouldn't be enough. "I guess I need to…get his clothes changed…"

Miku's cheeks flushed. She'd yet to share such intimacy with a _human_, let alone a demon. Still, she needed to get as many layers off of him as she could so she could get them dried out – and so his body could more easily absorb heat. "This…this is so embarrassingggg!" she squealed.

Yet she decided it would be worth suffering a little embarrassment if it meant keeping him alive. She started pulling off his jacket…

* * *

><p>Gakupo watched with some amusement as Miku tried to strip his Master's clothes off, turning redder as she removed each successive piece. Now that his Master appeared to be in safe hands, he could calm down from the disastrous moment.<p>

He'd never met such a contradictory person. Technically, the entire scenario was her fault for being so easily startled. Then again, Kaito had gotten far too close to her, far too quickly. Kaito rarely admitted to his true feelings about his predicament, but the samurai was not a fool – he knew that his Master yearned for companionship, even if just to have a friend to share his solitude with. Kaito probably wasn't careful in concealing himself and she'd panicked thinking she was about to get attacked by a monster. A simple misunderstanding, but it nearly ended both of their lives.

A monster. That was how the rest of the world saw his Master. They could be excused this mistake to an extent – only Gakupo remembered what he was like before the curse fell. And humans were conditioned to fear for their lives in the presence of monsters. Kaito in particular struck a frightening figure on appearance alone. To some extent, Miku's strong reactions made sense, though Gakupo knew Kaito would have hated being reminded of how different he was so strongly.

Yet when it seemed like Miku planned to abandon him to a watery grave, Gakupo felt nothing but anger for her selfishness. It was one thing to fear a monster and run away – it was quite another to let him drown after he'd made so many sacrifices for her sake.

Of course, Miku arrived at a good time. With a sour face, Gakupo recalled that he'd been frozen by a rare moment of indecision. He didn't actually know whether his bizarre state of existence would even allow him to save Kaito's life – would the poor prince's body simply slip through his hands, leaving his loyal knight to helplessly watching him drown? Could he even support himself in the water, or would he sink, doomed to spend the rest of eternity below the depths?

Yet it was that silly, easily scared girl that did what he could not. Diving into the water to save his master, with no regard for her own safety.

Well, he might have helped. A little. She certainly wasn't strong enough to haul him back onto the ice by herself. As soon as she popped out of the water clutching him tightly and tried to push him onto the ice with all her might, he'd grabbed hold of his body and yanked him up with all his might.

Fortunately, Gakupo learned that his Master was, in fact, the only person he could still touch.

Once Miku had Kaito stripped down to just his undergarments (and clearly she was too embarrassed to try and deprive him of that last dignity), Miku dragged his body into a fresh bed and covered him with sheets. Once Miku seemed satisfied that he wasn't about to die on her, she carefully laid out Kaito's wet clothes in front of the fire place.

After staring at him for a few moments, looking him over for any signs of chills, she began to unbutton the back of her own soaking wet dress.

At this point, the purple haired samurai decided to take a walk. It would not be proper to watch a lady undressing herself, regardless of whether or not she'd ever know he committed the crime. He caught sight of the wolf pack still roaming the grounds and drew his sword. His master would not be the only one to enjoy a worthy fight that evening. He yearned to know if his blade would pass through the wolves as easily as it would any other human…

* * *

><p>The floor was now covered in both Miku and the Demon Prince's clothes. "Ugh…I hope my dress recovers…" she moaned, "That was my favorite!"<p>

Now wearing nothing but her under garments, Miku blushed as she watched the Prince. "He better not wake up while I'm changing…" she muttered under her breath.

She searched for her satchel – in her haste to escape, she'd left her only change of clothes behind. Finding it laid carefully near the bed she'd stayed in earlier, she spied a long white overcoat laying atop the blankets. It was _his_ size.

Miku turned her head to watch the slumbering Prince. He was still shivering, but not as severely. Had he even noticed that he'd run outside without the right clothing?

Was he seriously more worried about Miku than himself?

As Miku changed into her spare clothes, she examined the house more carefully. As she remembered, she hadn't fallen asleep in a bed – she'd passed out in the floor. And having had plenty of time to properly examine the stove now, it was clearly too small to cook a person in it.

Once properly dressed again, she picked up his long coat and draped it over his bed. Despite his appearance, the Demon Prince seemed a lot less frightening when asleep. 'Maybe because I know he can't do anything to me like this…' Miku thought.

Miku sat across from him on another bed. She folded her hands, rested her elbows on her knees, and silently kept vigil over him. He still trembled in place. She wouldn't know until he'd woken up if he'd gotten sick or if he was still recovering from being in the water.

'Monsters break pretty things,' Miku thought to herself, 'Those with evil hearts look like monsters.'

That's how people explained the world to Miku all her life. She'd no reason to doubt them before. But today a monster nearly died preserving her when it made no sense to do so. Maybe he had some dark ulterior purpose as the stories always claimed.

Maybe he had none.

For the first time in her life, Miku found herself questioning whether good and evil were really so simple…


	3. Chapter 3: The Demon's Nurse

**Chapter 3: The Demon's Nurse**

_Kaito could hear the pounding of angry footsteps behind him in hot pursuit. He could outrun them, but he was deep in the heart of their city. He had no friends, no allies. Yet still he looked at every face desperately seeking just one person to look upon him as a friend…_

"_Kill it! Kill that monster! Before he kills us!"_

_Why did they fear him so!? He'd only wanted to be among his own kind again! Now they wanted to tear him to pieces…_

_Luka's voice echoed around him and he smelled the scent of rose blossoms._

"_Whenever anyone shall look upon you, they shall come to fear you…for they will see your true self reflected upon your face!"_

_In the distance he saw the silhouette of a girl with two turquoise pigtails. He reached out to her, the only familiar person he spied in his blind race for survival. "Miku!" he cried out._

_But as she lay eyes upon him, her face turned to pure terror. She shrieked at the top of her lungs._

"_The Demon Prince! He's over here! Someone help me, please!"_

_She shrank away from him as he tried to speak. "Get this ugly monster away from me!"_

_Kaito realized his carelessness when nets descended upon him, pulling him to the ground like an animal. He struggled against the thick cords. If he used all of his strength, they'd shred in moments… but so would any human caught in his frenzy. He couldn't see Miku anymore, only those who cried out for his blood. The air seared with the fire from the lit torches they carried._

"_Please… I beg of you… I don't wish to harm anyone…"_

_Yet his pleas fell on deaf ears. "Burn it alive! Then we'll know we got it for sure!"_

_As the torches lit the ropes ablaze, Kaito screamed as he felt his flesh melting away…_

Just as suddenly, Kaito felt himself wrenched from his slumber, the remnants of the nightmare still tearing at his mind and burning in his throat. He'd bolted upright, clutching his chest as he gasped for breath.

As he awoke, he heard a loud yelp across the room. The curious Prince fixed his attention to the unexpected sight of Miku, who sat on another bed across from him. From the quaking of her eyes and the color of her face, Kaito realized he'd managed to scare the poor girl yet again. Nervously, Kaito hoped this time he'd be fast enough to find some soothing words to keep the easily startled girl from leaping out of the cabin and running away. Fumbling for those words, he began to fear that any moment she would leap off of the bed, sprint towards the door and…

"Mr. Demon Prince, are you okay?! Did you hurt yourself!?"

...ask about his health…

'That's…not quite what I expected…' he thought. He remained silent, just staring at the girl for a few moments before the curious expression on her face reminded him she sought an answer.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I just had a rather… intense dream. I'm fine now." Miku knew nothing about him – he didn't need to trouble her with details about his personal nightmares.

Miku seemed to accept his answer as the fear faded from her face, replaced by relief. "Oh thank the spirits, I thought you were dying or something when you started screaming like that!'

As the nightmare receded, Kaito struggled to recall how he'd gone from passing out under the frozen waters of the lake to a safe, warm bed. As he took in his surroundings, he recognized the simple wooden cottage the day's adventures began in. So he'd returned to the servant's house, the fire he'd originally lit for Miku now sustaining the warmth he needed for himself.

As he glanced down at his bare chest, he gasped. He felt his cheeks grow hot when he realized he was almost completely nude under the sheets save for a few choice underclothes. His eyes darted across the room until he found his previous garments strewn across the wooden planks in front of the stove. Next to his lay Miku's dress, jacket, and several other undergarments.

"Um…Mr. Demon Prince?"

As he returned his gaze to Miku, he finally recognized she'd changed her clothes since he last saw her during the frantic fight upon the lake's surface. The turquoise haired girl was pressing her index fingers together nervously as she observed his behavior. She still seemed frightened even if she seemed to plan on staying put this time.

Kaito tried to focus his thoughts to answer her, but his sense of balance felt weak. He felt as though the entire room was spinning like a top rolling along a table. In an attempt to steady himself, he leaned over, pressing his hands against his forehead as he propped himself up with his elbows. "I don't understand anything…how did I arrive here?" he asked, hoping the wave would pass quickly as Miku filled in the gaps in the chain of events.

Miku's expression of fear vanished again as she began to giggle. "When you fell into the lake, I dove into the waters, pulled you out, then I carried you all the way back here!" The girl puffed up with pride, patting her chest for emphasis.

"…and then you took my clothes off?"

Miku's pride deflated, replaced by embarrassment as her cheeks turned red from his inquiry. "I…I…" she stammered, before a sour expression crossed her face, "I only did it so you didn't freeze to death!"

She turned her head away from him with a huff. "I'll have you know I'm a perfect lady!" she said.

Somewhere in the swirl of his failing vision, he could make out Miku's angry expression… her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, the red color still present. Were he not concerned with upsetting her further, he might have commented on how cute he thought she looked.

But instead, he needed to offer gratitude. "I'm grateful to you, Miku, for saving my life," he said with the utmost sincerity, "I'm impressed you're such a strong swimmer."

Miku turned her head back to Kaito. The compliment to her abilities seemed to restore a sense of calm to her. She still didn't seem to know quite how to regard him in general, but at least they were finally having a conversation.

Kaito let out a groan as his vision grew even blurrier from the dizzy spell. He tried to keep himself up right but his arms wobbled as they began to lose their strength. Miku jumped up and gripped his shoulders tightly before he fell from the bed entirely, slowly leaning him back into a lying position on his bed. "You're not saved yet," she said softly, pulling his covers back over his shoulders, "Don't push yourself like this. You're sick. Leave everything to me, okay?"

He nodded softly as he sank into the pillow. He dreaded another nightmare interrupting his much-needed respite. As much as he wished to take advantage of the first conversation he'd managed to have with Miku, he was rapidly losing the battle with his fatigue. He couldn't remember the last time he'd exerted himself so hard... but he'd done all of it to save Miku.

Kaito's eyelids grew heavier. Before sleep claimed him a second time, he heard one last question from Miku.

"Before you go back to sleep…I just wanted to know your name. Since it's not, you know, 'Demon Prince.'"

He smiled to himself as he finally became more than just a mythical monster to his caretaker. "My name is…Kaito…"

With that question answered, Miku's "patient" fell back into another sleep.

* * *

><p>"Kaito…" Miku repeated to herself. So the dreaded Demon Prince now had a name.<p>

Miku wracked her memories of Len's multitude of stories to recall if he'd ever given the "Demon Prince" a name. The actual name sounded unfamiliar, so most likely not. To Miku, she'd just known him as "The Demon Prince," the subject of many a childhood nightmare.

A growl from her hollow stomach interrupted her train of thought. Sheepishly, Miku realized she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a proper meal. The stove in the cottage could probably handle preparation of a stew if she could scrounge for a pot and some ingredients. Yet as she watched Kaito slumber relatively peacefully, she feared leaving her patient to his own devices – especially if he woke up in her absence.

'Well….the next time he wakes up, he'll probably need to eat too…' she assured herself. Given his battle for survival, in fact, something warm to eat could do wonders for his health.

Though she didn't actually know _what_ he ate.

Miku gathered Kaito's dry clothes from the floor, folded them up, and rested them at the edge of his bed. If he awoke while she was gone, he could easily get himself dressed without her needing to step out into the cold. She glanced outside the window and the fierce blizzard had subsided, now just a few occasional gentle snowflakes drifting from the sky. Now that the storm had calmed down, she could try and find out where he kept his food storage. She'd get her answer to what he ate by the time she found it.

As she wandered out of the cabin, she reflected on her first conversation with the dreaded "Demon Prince". As little information passed between them beyond his name, Miku couldn't say for certain what his motivations were. Yet in spite of his frightening appearance living up to the stories, his manner of speaking appeared far softer. She'd expected him to sound a lot more frightening when he spoke. She thought he'd growl at her like some kind of animal – after all, he certainly _looked_ like one. But instead his voice was smooth and pleasant, and his words and mannerisms appeared surprisingly gentle.

Of course, having seen him do battle with the wolves already taught her that he could turn out to be quite ferocious when he willed it. Yet she'd noticed as she'd undressed him that the beasts hadn't managed to cause even a scratch his thick scales. In fact, his body appeared absent of any large scars or lingering wounds. Either he didn't fight that much, or he was just too powerful for any mortal creature to harm him. The creature that haunted her childhood nightmares was shaping up to be something entirely different than she'd envisioned.

Miku entered the castle proper through a series of once-magnificent stone arches. Like much of the castle's exterior, they appeared faded and crumbling. She found its interior to be no different. Though she imagined the castle once appeared as a fantastic marvel of beauty, the marble floors looked chipped and broken, the painted friezes flaking and faded, and the glamorous gold trims dented and cracked.

"I wonder how long it's been like this…" she spoke aloud, "Kaito doesn't look like he's that much older than I am but this castle is so run down, there can't have been anyone living here for decades!"

Miku kicked a stone across the moldy carpet absent-mindedly. "Decades," she murmured. Had Kaito truly lived in such a dilapidated ruin such a lengthy period of time?

Alone?

* * *

><p><em>The water flushed into his lungs as he struggled to breathe. The numbing cold clawed at his skin, freezing his sense of touch and feeling.<em>

_He futilely reached out to the hole in the ice. 'Please!' he begged in his thoughts, 'I can't die… I can't fail them!'_

'_My friends… my family… my kingdom…'_

_The suffocation slowed his thoughts as not a soul jumped into the water._

"_Not a single soul would dare give their lives for a wretched monster like you."_

_As death encroached upon him, he struggled less and less against the water. The fairy was right – he was to die alone, and unloved…_

Kaito awoke flailing his arms around, as if he were still submerged in that water. He calmed his body as wakefulness returned to him and he became aware that the "water" he'd fought against was merely the cloth blankets covering him. A quick visual scan of the room revealed the absence of Miku. "Of course… she's gone home…" he murmured aloud, a sad smile on his face. She'd left him…now that she knew he wouldn't die, she'd no doubt hopped back on her horse and gone on with her journey home…

"The Miku girl is in the castle, Prince."

The heavy door closed behind the familiar samurai as he entered the cabin. His heavy wooden sandals clunked against the wooden floor as he approached his master. "And from the way she was talking, I believe she's trying to find the kitchens."

The kitchens… so she truly did intend to see to his health instead of departing at the first sign of clear weather. With that question resolved, Kaito tried to brace himself to stand for the first time since the accident. While he still felt his legs shaking along with the rest of him, he felt a bit more secure than he had earlier – at least enough to move around the cabin without collapsing into a heap on the cold floor. But as his legs still trembled from his weakness, he had to admit that a long trip back to the castle was out of the question in his current state.

"And you didn't tell her how to get there?" he asked his friend as he tried to banish the sensation of dizziness so he could take a few more steps

"I certainly tried, but there's still the matter that she can't see or hear me."

Gakupo wore a sly smirk upon his face as the embarrassed Kaito had to concede his point. He looked to the folded up clothes on the edge of the bed. With Miku's absence, he could make himself more presentable – just standing around in his under garments made him feel exposed. As he approached, he spotted his white overcoat laying atop the bed sheets. He grasped it with one hand, remembering placing it over the slumbering Miku in a different bed several hours earlier. Yet here it was, now atop his bed instead.

So she _had_ noticed.

* * *

><p>"By the spirits! Why is this castle soooooo big?! How does he find ANYTHING in this place!?"<p>

Miku trudged through yet another dreary hall, her hunger gnawing at her. Her mood improved as she finally caught a whiff of burnt wood and smoke drifting through the chilled air. Following the scent, she marched into a gloomy, cool kitchen, spying the last burning embers in the fire place.

Miku shivered again, wishing she'd stayed curled up next to the comfy warmth of the cabin's lit stove. Glancing around, the sheer size of the room and the numerous counters and utensils made it obvious this kitchen was once capable of whipping up fantastic feasts long ago. Yet now, while the embers in the fireplace showed Kaito made use of it for his personal needs, the rest laid disused. After all, what point would there be in a feast for one?

Spying a distinct thick wooden door, Miku guessed it led to the larder. As she approached, she remembered that she was trying to find food for something that wasn't human. She started to shake from fear as she could just hear Len's teasing voice in her ears.

"_When he's tired of their screaming…he gobbles them up whole!"_

"Is…is there going to be a person in there?" she squeaked, suddenly afraid to open the door and see what the "Demon Prince" _actually_ ate.

With quaking hands, Miku lifted the wooden bar to the door with some great effort. Her active imagination continued unabated as she tried to anticipate the grotesque displays inside. She wondered if she'd find gobs of chopped up meat, still bleeding… or perhaps a pretty girl hanging on a hook. Miku took a deep breath and then threw open the door, ready for whatever horror awaited her…

...the tales had not prepared her for such a mundane larder. Not a single corpse or even a spot of blood awaited her. Only the familiar sight of wooden barrels and cloth sacks. Miku gave the room a good sniff and while she detected a musty odor hanging in the air, nothing smelled truly unusual.

Much like the kitchen, the larder had enough space to store what could have been months of food for a great number of people. And much like the kitchen, much of the space lay empty, unused. A single person only needed so much food, and given the rate of spoilage, Kaito could only store so much for so long given his appetite.

As she walked inside, the light dimming, she saw the larder's walls and shelves largely untouched by the mold that marred so much of the rest of the castle's interior. Clearly, Kaito kept it cleaned up – after all, he couldn't very well take a chance on mold ruining his food supply. Most of the oaken barrels were empty –perhaps Kaito had already used those supplies, or maybe he didn't even bother filling more than he needed. Several of the sacks lay empty upon the floor, a small layer of dust indicating how long they remained unused.

Eventually Miku discovered a small collection of closed sacks and lidded barrels – she guessed this was where he kept fresh food. Lifting the lid off one of the barrels, she found salted venison and boar. Meat, but nothing terribly out of the ordinary. She'd have to remember the location for the future. She carefully replaced the barrel lid and opened one of the sacks…

"SPRING ONIONS!"

Miku's eyes lit up with delight at the sight of the thin, green stalks and she started gathering as many as she could carry in her arms. "That's it, I'm making a vegetable stew!"

So happy was she to find her favorite food in the world that she didn't stop to think why spring onions would be found in a larder in the dead of winter. Going through another brown sack, she found a nice assortment of complementary vegetables, singing an old folk song to herself as she dreamed of enjoying her special stew recipe in the welcoming heat of the servant's house…

* * *

><p>By the time Miku returned to the cabin, Kaito had finished changing and returned to his bed, trying to fight off the chills running through his body. He'd not bothered to put on all of his clothes – just enough to protect his modesty while still giving him comfort as he tried to sleep. Upon Miku's entrance, he the girl carrying a stock pot in one arm and a bucket of water in the other. He attempted to stand, with the intent of relieving her of at least part of her burden, but when she saw him moving, she shot him a stern gaze. "No, no, no! You're the patient! Stay in bed!"<p>

Upon seeing her serious face, Kaito sat back in the bed, but he kept a careful watch as she slowly made her way across the cabin to the stove. Miku grunted as she set down her supplies. "Um…I don't actually know if you eat all these vegetables," she said, "But I know how to make a nice stew…and if you can eat that, I think it'll help you get well faster…"

Miku had some _very_ strange ideas about him. 'That's right…she kept crying that I was going to eat _her,_ didn't she?'

"I eat normal food, Miku," Kaito assured her. He smiled softly, though in truth, he wasn't sure whether a smile from a monster could assure anyone. He hoped his fangs weren't visible that time.

From the way Miku squeaked and shrank back, he gathered they were. She tried to recover from being startled and turned away to separate the ingredients she'd hauled back. "Well then…papa says my spring onion stew is the best in the world…so I bet after just a few bites, you'll be healthy in no time!"

As Miku prepared the meal, Kaito largely just watched her in silence. Partly because he still felt too weak to try and carry on a conversation. Partly because he still feared he still had the potential to chase her away from him. He'd finally gotten Miku to stay put… all it cost him was a brush with death.

As Miku kept chopping the vegetables and dumping them into the pot, she sang softly to herself.

"_Hra-tsa-tsa, ia ripi-dapi dilla barits tad dillan deh lando._

_Aba rippadta parip parii ba ribi, ribi, ribiriz den teahlando…"_

"Where did you learn a song like that?" he finally asked as the strength to speak built up in him.

By now, Kaito concluded that Miku blushed rather easily, as again her cheeks turned slightly redder as he draw attention to her singing talents. "I got it from a book of music," she responded, "It's a folk song from a faraway country. I like to sing it when I'm making my stews."

"Are you a singer?"

At the word "singer", Miku's entire body seemed to charge with energy. "I'm not a real singer yet! But some day! Someday I'm going to light up the entire world with my song and charm and be a diva of the stage!"

She pumped her fists for emphasis on how serious she was about her dream. "And then, I'm going to catch the eye of a handsome prince with my beautiful voice and I'll be SET! For life!"

After so boldly announcing her dream to Kaito, Miku returned to her cooking with renewed spirit. As she thought about her grandiose ambitions, Kaito ruminated on what it must feel like to be free enough to chase a dream, even one as wild as hers. Just seeing the girl so animated with determination… he'd never met any person with such energy as Miku.

'_A handsome prince.'_

He didn't speak up again for some time, just observing his guest and listening to her as she returned to her singing. As he continued to listen to her melody, his trained ear told him that she had the potential to be a strong performer. Though he could tell she'd had no tutoring in her craft, from the lack of real polish in her voice so far. If she could just find a teacher to train her in the more technical elements of the craft, though, she'd probably turn out to be a fantastic "diva." He guessed she hailed from a smaller village that had no performance troupes – surely someone with her raw talent would have been snatched up by one otherwise.

As for the other half of her dream… he'd spent far too long outside the world of human politics to know how likely any eligible royals would be to snap up an attractive performer from non-noble backgrounds. In the past, she'd have a tough hill to climb without any title to her name to bring to such an arrangement. Then again, if she won the heart of someone thoroughly enough, she could likely overcome it…

'A girl with her spirit and beauty could overcome something that small,' he thought to himself, 'She's not _me_.'

Before Kaito could spend too long feeling sorry for himself, Miku handed him a hot bowl of stew and a spoon. "Eat as much as you can, okay?" she encouraged, "You need your strength back after what you did." As she observed his shivering, she added "And you really need to keep warm."

She took her own bowl and started eating with gusto. He guessed she'd prepared her favorite recipe from how happy it made her. Tentatively, he tried a spoonful for himself and immediately tasted the strong power of spring onions. Not so much to overwhelm the dish, but certainly to the point that it was hard to call this is a _vegetable_ stew – more of a "spring onion stew with vegetables on the side."

The two ate largely in silence, for Kaito still felt his fatigue wearing at him and Miku appeared completely focused on her meal. But as she finished up and collected his empty bowl, she finally felt the need to speak up again. "Kaito, when you're well enough to walk, let me know."

Of course, he thought to himself, she needed to know how long she had to stay before she could return to her home. "I should be fine once the dizziness passes," he said, trying to mask how weak he truly felt. He could muddle through the rest himself, with enough effort, and she could go home as she wanted…

"Okay, that's good," Miku said, "When you're well enough, I'll help you get back to your room. It's probably a lot more comfortable there."

…or she just wanted to get him back to his room. Now she had his curiosity. He hesitated a moment – he feared the answer, but tormenting himself with constant thoughts of waking up alone again seemed a poor alternative. "Miku, how long do you intend to stay?"

The look of surprise on the pigtailed girl's face suggested Miku had yet to even think about leaving. "Well…I can't leave until you're better, of course…"

She stared out the window, eyeing the fields of white snow stretching out endlessly before her. "Um…I'm not going to be able to get to Melodia with the bridge out," she said, "My father gave me some money to stay in Arlisia if I got stuck, but…I'm pretty sure that's snowed in by now too."

'Of course…' Kaito thought to himself, 'This snow is going to continue for a few weeks… the path out of this castle is impossible given how thick it is…and surely no humans could get out to repair the bridge. Gakupo and I don't really have the means to do it ourselves either.'

She looked at him and folded her hands. "Please, Kaito, I promise I won't be a bother! I just need a place to stay until the snow melts!" she begged desperately, "I swear I won't take your roses again! I'll nurse you back to health and everything!"

The snow wouldn't melt for weeks, at least. Not until the approach of warmer spring days. Miku was essentially asking him to give her room and board for the rest of the winter.

To Miku, staying in the Demon Prince's castle felt like a major imposition on him.

To Kaito, the idea of having Miku around for an entire season sounded like the miracle he'd given up on.

"Stay as long as you need to, Miku," Kaito said.

Upon hearing him accept her request, the girl's face lit up with cheer. "Oh, thank you so much! I can give you the money from my father and…"

"You can keep it."

"Ahhhh, you're even really generous! I can't believe it!"

Miku flopped onto the servant's bed, rolling around to her back and staring at the ceiling. "My first vacation from home…I never thought it'd be like this!"

Kaito hadn't dared hope to have Miku stay in his castle for even a day, let alone a season. Maybe with just enough time…

_Until one loves you as truly as I._

That slim possibility was worth his icy brush with death.

* * *

><p>After Kaito drifted off into another uncomfortable sleep and she'd assured herself he would be safe for a short while, Miku departed the cabin to walk the castle grounds a second time before dark settled in. She needed to have some idea of where the important supplies were located as long as Kaito's care was her chief concern.<p>

If she'd thought taking a simple letter to Arlisia would end up with her playing nurse to a sick demon, she might have thought twice about it. Her father was probably sick himself with worry over her absence. But with the roads out, she couldn't even send so much as a letter to allay his fears.

"Still though," she said to herself, "If he thinks I'm safe in Arlisia, he won't worry too much."

Miku sighed, imagining what a winter in Arlisia could have been for her. She'd still not seen a single professional troupe on stage. She yearned to see the work of a true Diva, someone to mold herself in the image of, whose song inspired the masses. A few months in that city and she'd no doubt have learned all of the secrets of stardom… and caught the eyes of her dream prince.

A prince…

'That's right…' Miku thought to herself, 'According to the Demon Prince stories, he's under a curse, right?'

As she wandered the empty halls of Kaito's home, she tried to imagine what they'd feel like when filled with people. Servants coming and going with the day's tasks, nobles laughing and doing business, the kitchens enticing with the scent of fresh food. Lavish parties spread across the ballroom, feasts stretched along the tables as the famous and rich guests danced the night away to a full orchestra…

"Ahhhh… that must have been nice…"

Soon Miku imagined herself in the garbs of a princess, twirling on the dance floor with her imaginary prince on her arm. "I'd probably light up the entire room!" she cooed. As her imagination carried her further, Miku began mimicking the dance steps and spinning on her toes.

As her fantasy came to an end, Miku's heart fell at seeing the ballroom in such shambles. Such a glamorous evening was not to happen in the castle as it was now. The ruins looked barely capable of supporting the one person who actually _did_ live here. "But if he _is_ cursed, where are all the people, anyway?" she wondered aloud, "If he really was a prince so long ago… then there would have been servants! His family! His guards and… whatever else princes keep around I guess."

Supposedly the Prince was cursed because he was cruel to a fairy. Perhaps in the aftermath, he'd driven off all the people who once called the castle their home. Yet given Kaito's selfless behavior towards Miku, she had trouble reconciling the idea of him being even a little cruel. Perhaps he'd never been "cursed" at all… a monster from the beginning who'd become the subject of stories and tales that built up a legend about his origins far divergent from the truth.

The only person capable of answering her questions was Kaito himself. Though she despised how the stories of her youth frightened her, she began to wonder how much truth lay in any of them. Yet Miku understood it would be the height of rudeness to pry into his personal affairs. He'd opened his home to Miku for the winter, and of course, he was now her patient. As much as her curiosity prodded at her, she didn't want to force him to open up on something that could be deeply personal.

"Well, I've got time…I'll find out eventually."

She kicked a stone across the broken tiles of the ballroom, watching it roll into an old grand piano. Curious, she walked over to the aging instrument, pressing her finger to one of the yellowed keys. The off-tune note that emerged suggested to her that the piano would be useless to her musical inclinations in the shape it was currently in.

"So much for practice…"

* * *

><p>"So you've decided to make an honest attempt, Prince?"<p>

The purple haired samurai stood near the window closest to his Master's bed, eyeing the snowflakes drifting down from the sky.

"I didn't wish to keep her here, but when she started begging me for somewhere to stay…I just thought that… maybe I could try."

Gakupo's rich laughter echoed his amused expression. "I can understand you're not much of a fan of my bedside manner," he joked, "but it must be such an incredible hardship to have a beautiful young woman cook and care for you…"

"It's not like that!" Kaito protested.

From his sudden outburst, it was clear Kaito intended to finally break the curse binding the both of them to their current state. Gakupo turned to face his master and saw a spark in the young Prince's eyes that he'd not seen since days long past.

"I can't force myself on Miku," Kaito said, "But if she's actually willing to at least _talk_ to me like this… maybe I have a chance to…"

Kaito's voice trailed off as he looked at his hands in contemplation. Not that the remainder of his statement needed to be spoken aloud – both men already knew how much Miku's presence could alter the course of their miserable lives. But it required a delicate touch…_true_ love was something that couldn't be made to happen.

And there was one additional complication when it came to his master, besides the obvious.

"….I don't know the first thing about romance."

Gakupo held back another laugh as he noticed his master's skin had acquired a redder color around the cheeks. 'So he _can_ still blush,' he thought, noting yet another rare occurrence that used to be far more common in the past.

But it was a reasonable concern – though others had paid Kaito suit in the past, he'd never actually courted any of the nobility. Kaito far preferred to remain in the safety of his garden growing up… a fact that had yet to change since then. There wasn't even a secret lover he kept on the side, hidden from the disapproval of the privileged nobility. So any admirers he may have had never expressed their feelings to the shy Prince.

Well, aside from Luka_. _ But they wouldn't be a pair of cursed souls in an empty castle had he actually loved and courted _her_.

Kaito began to add another thought when the door to the cabin open and he fell silent as Miku returned. Instinctively, Gakupo walked out of her way, though as one of her pigtails passed through his body, he remembered that the effort was hardly necessary. "Kaito!" she scolded, "I thought I told you to stay in bed!"

She crossed her arms and stared at him sternly as Kaito returned only confusion. "I only just woke up a few minutes ago…" he stammered.

"Then who tied up my horse out front?"

Kaito's eyes rested on the samurai, who looked up at the ceiling innocently. "I found the horse running loose this morning and thought our Miku girl shouldn't be left without a ride home," he explained, "Since you were sound asleep, I didn't see any reason to wake you."

Gakupo watch his master attempt to contrive of an explanation that didn't involve trying to explain to Miku that an invisible samurai was standing right next to her. "It…might have been a good spirit?" Kaito finally said, lamely.

"You mean like a ghost?!" Miku exclaimed, her face turning white.

"No!" Kaito tried to recover, "You don't remember the stories about the good spirits of the wood? They tend to hang around this castle!"

Though she didn't appear to believe Kaito's excuse, her features appeared calmer. "Okay, I don't really care anymore," she said, "As long as you're not pushing yourself too hard. You have to focus on getting better so you don't spend the entire winter sick!"

"I'm a good spirit now, am I?" Gakupo laughed, leaning on a wall behind Miku, "I'll remember that, my Lord."

Kaito lay back in his bed, shooting another look at Gakupo. The samurai took that as a reminder that he'd need to be more careful from now on about his actions. Miku could not know the truth about the curse – the terms seemed to require a genuine emotion out of her. Telling her there were real ghosts could either scare her off or make her press for more details – bother outcomes that could jeopardize the entire plan.

Even so, that was easier said than done. Gakupo had gotten so adjusted to living as a spirit that he was far more careless now that he knew he'd always have the element of surprise. But now that Kaito had expressed his intent to try and woo Miku to break their curse, Gakupo needed to support his Master in this endeavor – for both of their sakes.

Miku knelt down to examine the stove. Seeing the smaller flames inside, she opened the grate and carefully inserted another log. "Oh, and I think I found the bedrooms, Kaito…when you're ready to walk over, I'll get you set up there."

"I suppose that's my cue to get the guest bedroom ready," Gakupo said, "See? I'm starting to read your mind now, Master."

As he turned to leave, he heard Miku speak. "Kaito, I just wanted to say…well…"

Something about her nervous voice made Gakupo decide to stay a few more minutes and hear her out. "Thank you. Not just for the place to stay, but for saving my life…"

Kaito had his eyes on the girl, who appeared to, for once, be struggling with speaking her mind. "It's my fault you got hurt," she said, "And when you were nothing but kind to me…I treated you terribly."

She bowed her head deeply to him. "I hope you can forgive me for my behavior."

Kaito, appearing touched by the sincerity of Miku's apology, swallowed before simply replying "You're welcome."

"Annnd?" Gakupo added in a scolding tone.

"And! And I hope I can keep you happy this winter, while you're away from your family!" the Prince added quickly.

Gakupo nodded his approval. He nudged open the door to the cabin, careful not to make a sound or let in too much cold as he did so. As the door securely closed behind him, he heard Miku remark on having felt a sudden draft, but she did not appear alarmed. The samurai trudged through the thick snow towards the castle so he could prepare a room for Miku to stay in. As he saw the wind pick up again, scattering the falling snow in its wake, the samurai remained impervious to it, even his hair remaining in place. Gakupo imagined he should be freezing, but just as the summer sun gave him no warmth, the winter's winds could not chill something without life or form.

'Well then, Miku girl, I'll be keeping a _very_ close eye on you.'

* * *

><p><em>AN: I've moved these to the end of the doc so I can talk about events in the chapter after you read it instead of before the story even starts!_

So.

_Happy Wednesday and welcome to the third installment of The Summer and Winter Garden. Hope you enjoyed finally seeing our Beauty talk to our Beast._

_Something that always bothers a lot of people about Beauty and the Beast and its variants is how the Beauty is basically asked to be the Beast's prisoner, and she comes to love him pretty much because he just gives her a lot of cool stuff - and that creepy implication that it's not like she can go home. Of course, from a narrative perspective, they trap her because obviously there's not much reason for her to stay with a creepy monster that keeps asking her to marry him every day unless she *has* to. Or in the case of the "karmic transformation" variants, the Beast attempts to imprison the girl because it's part of a character arc and he eventually learns to let her be free._

_I decided to take a different approach given how I intend for Kaito's arc as the "beast" to progress, and him trapping the Beauty didn't quite work in that respect. I compromised and placed Miku there by an outside circumstance to try and change up the narrative... and I quite like how it adds an element of time pressure to Kaito's storyline._

_Gakupo's role is sort of a condensation of a lot different variant tellings of the story and what happens to the Beast's servants. I hesitate to talk too much without spoiling the story, but in several different versions of the story, the servants either vanish entirely or become essentially ghosts that always maintain the castle and keep Beauty entertained. As you can see, when Kaito only has one servant, the castle isn't that well-kept. Obviously Disney wanted a different fate for them as a castle full of talking objects helps build up a supporting cast, is a lot of fun to animate, and oh yea, it sells more toys :D Well, maybe if they had Gakupo in the movie, they'd have sold lots of toys too! And don't worry, he gets more to do down the road than just be Kaito's Greek chorus and occasional butler.))_

_**11/14:** I received a comment correctly guessing if Miku was singing **Ievan Polkka. **I'll start inserting song crdits from this point forward since there will be more song snippets in future chapters and they won't always be obvious. Them Vocaloids, they gotta play the hits ;)_


	4. Chapter 4: The Winter Garden

**Chapter 4: The Winter Garden**

Kaito required regular care for almost two weeks after the accident at the lake. He and Miku remained in the servant's house overnight. Once Kaito indicated he could stand and walk the distance, they departed back into the castle proper the next morning. As the Demon Prince gave her directions to his quarters, he still relied on Miku for support during the trip to the castle. In spite of Miku's earlier misgivings about him, she willingly let him lean on her shoulders when his dizzy spells overtook him.

As Miku got Kaito settled in his own room, he told her about a bedchamber within shouting distance of his own that he granted her permission to use. Though she was at first nervous that room might be as rundown as the rest of the castle was, fortune smiled upon her for the room was in great condition. If Miku hadn't known better, she'd have guessed that someone had prepared it for her only hours earlier.

Miku marveled at the fancy bedding and furniture in her suite – as if a king or queen once called it their own. In secret, she'd spent some time rolling around on the extra plush mattress and enjoying the richly stuffed pillows – such luxuries that she had no access to in her more modest home in Melodia. Furthermore, she found an abundance of clothes in good repair that she could change into so she needn't rely only on the two dresses she brought from her home. The wardrobe consisted of both lovely dresses as to her tastes, glamorous ball gowns, and more practical clothes for the more laborious tasks she'd taken upon herself. The latter surprised her given the furnishings of the room – how many kings and queens needed clothes for hard labor?

Miku drew from wells of strength she never realized she possessed during Kaito's recovery. She monitored Kaito's health, cooked all the meals, changed the bed sheets, cleaned both of their clothes, and even began chopping firewood to keep their rooms warm. At first the hard labor felt grueling – Miku lived a far less intensive life in Melodia, where the most difficult tasks she performed involved carrying around letters and parcels. Her small family home required little in the way of cleaning, hence her father would do it himself.

But as the days passed, Miku found the responsibilities invigorating as they also meant she had the freedom to care for herself as she saw fit. Her father certainly never trusted her to so much as touch an axe, let alone hold it and swing it around – so splitting logs felt fresh and exciting to her sheltered life. And with the necessity of needing to do all the cooking came the freedom of preparing meals _she_ wanted to try. Sure she couldn't eat onion soup all day (well, _she_ could, but Kaito likely wouldn't), but the castle's larder had enough variety of ingredients that she could experiment at least a little. He had enough preserved foods in there to last the both of them through the winter, so she wouldn't even need to worry that they couldn't get out of the castle grounds for additional supplies.

By the time her host was up and walking about again, she'd fallen into a fairly steady routine of chores to keep his home in good shape. He had attempted to take on some of her tasks as his strength returned, but Miku insisted on keeping them up herself – after all, she'd explained, she was in his home without an invitation and the least she could do to make it up to him was keep the castle as good as she left it. But secretly, she just liked knowing that someone actually trusted her judgment.

* * *

><p>Kaito, for his part, felt a vast array of emotions at having Miku in the castle with him. Though she remained unaware of her importance, the childlike girl represented Kaito's first chance at attempting to break his curse. His appearance made it difficult for him to interact with other humans – something he'd learned through painful experience. By the time Miku stumbled into his castle, he'd essentially given up on actually getting someone to sustain a conversation with him without running away. Actually finding someone he expected to fall in love with him was right out. But now… in spite of their near-catastrophic first meetings, he'd ended up with another human in his home that treated him with respect. Perhaps, with enough effort, he could convince her kindness to extend to something deeper.<p>

At the same time, Kaito feared failing – if he pushed Miku too hard, she'd never love him at all. He could even shatter that fragile friendship they'd begun to cultivate. His mind was also plagued with guilt that his need to find someone to break his curse did not just concern his own welfare. He carried the burdens of an entire cursed kingdom upon his shoulders.

Whenever Kaito let his mind wander too far, the already lofty task felt insurmountable. It was one thing for Miku to be willing to talk to him… but to fall in love with him? He'd lament to himself that she deserved someone better – someone _human_.

Fortunately, Kaito did not need to suffer entirely alone. His faithful knight rarely strayed far from his Lord during his recovery from the incident at the lake. And Gakupo possessed an uncanny knack for discerning when Kaito's mood dipped too low. To try and calm his nerves, the samurai always offered the same advice – to put the business of curses out of his mind and focus on the joy of having another human in his company.

Advice that Kaito could usually follow with some success thanks to the bubbly energy Miku brought to the castle. Now that Miku seemed to be capable of handling his appearance, he'd been able to have conversations on far-less earth shattering topics. And Miku's radiant personality could outshine any of his darker moods.

As Kaito's health returned to him, he resolved to start making inroads on the plan to court Miku. He attempted to think of the ways others interacted to show how they cared for each other. Not exactly a foreign concept to him, but this would be the first time he was attempting to _impress_ someone. If he could just give Miku something to warm her heart, he might make some progress on his task.

Kaito wracked his brain trying to come up with something fresh and different from the normal avenues of Miku's life. He knew of her love of spring onions, but she'd already found those in the larder and generally made at least one meal a day that included them somewhere. They were hardly special at the moment. Gifts were… difficult. He couldn't exactly leave the castle even if he looked normal – the snowfall had seen to that. He needed to find something Miku had yet to stumble upon on her numerous trips through the building that could still suitably impress her.

And so it was that on the morning two weeks after Miku came to stay with him that Kaito rose ahead of her and took a walk around the castle to stretch his legs. Finally well enough to go back to taking these rounds on the empty property, the crisp air in his lungs rejuvenated him after so much time spent lying in bed.

'What about her chores? If I were to take that up for her...' Kaito thought to himself.

He shook his head. He still couldn't forget the scolding she'd given him the last time he tried to help her out in her cleaning. So inflexible was she in her dedication to the chores that he feared he'd made her feel obligated to help him. As he thought of chores, his mind drifted to his own duties, neglected due to his ill health…

…and then he realized _exactly_ what he sort of gift Miku might enjoy that only he could give her.

* * *

><p><em>The audience listened with rapt attention as Miku, the glamorous soloist, serenaded the theater with her glorious melody. Her snow-white gown glowed under the soft aura of the stage lights.<em>

_As she finished her song, the audience erupted into thundering applause. Miku gracefully bowed towards her adoring public as red roses showered the stage._

_After giving her audience the attention they deserved, she began her exit from the stage. Crossing the curtain, she spied a handsome young man in a fine silk suit, a glimmering crown upon his head. He approached her, clutching an elegant box in his arms. "Miku, you are the world's finest Diva! I present to you this fine gift if only you'll accept my marriage proposal and become my Princess!"_

_He lifted the lid and Miku squealed at the sight of more glittering gems than she could count. "Oh, my Prince, of course I'll be your wife!"_

_She embraced her husband-to-be. Her heart raced as she dreamt of the life they would lead together._

As Miku rose with the morning sun, she bounded out of bed and began to change her clothes. As pleasant as her dream was, she needed to get the breakfast started for her and Kaito so she could get the morning chores out of the way quickly. As she sat at her vanity and began to brush out her hair, she giggled as she thought of how lovely it would be to have a stranger sweep her off her feet at the night of her grandest show. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she blushed as she imagined her dream prince standing at her side…

Her thoughts swiftly returned to the very real person she taken charge over. Kaito's fever broke after a few days, and the dizzy spells appeared to pass with it. Though she had to admit that she didn't actually know what constituted a "healthy color" for someone covered in scales, so she'd learned to study his body language instead. Fortunately, he was a lot closer to human in that respect. In spite of his obvious attempts to hide how seriously he was sick early on, she noticed his appetite seemed to be normalizing and he could carry on conversations with her for longer periods of time. By the end of yesterday, they'd taken a walk all the way to the shore of the lake and back again without him stopping from fatigue, a large improvement from when he couldn't even get out of bed without trembling and toppling over.

"Hee hee," Miku giggled as she tied the ribbons in her hair into tight bows, "Nurse Miku is a stunning success!"

Once she was satisfied with her hair, she skipped out of the bedroom, singing all the way. As she bounced into the kitchen ready to start cooking, she saw Kaito setting down a pair of bowls full of steaming hot porridge. "Aw, Kaito, you don't have to do that!" she pouted, "You know I'm handling all the housework for you!"

"I understand, but I wanted to get us an early start," he explained, "I wanted to give you a proper tour of the grounds."

The Demon Prince smiled at her – and Miku tried her hardest not to shiver as she caught a peek at those razor sharp teeth again. Even if logically Kaito never once expressed any desire to harm her, her mind kept warning her that she should be suspicious of a demon's smile. She averted her eyes to the porridge he'd prepared to make her discomfort less conspicuous. Even if he still frightened her, she didn't wish to upset him when he'd done something nice for the both of them. Miku tried to calm herself down, but his mysterious behavior began to revive her fears of the "Demon Prince." Did he have some kind of horrible secrets she was about to experience?

'Maybe it's some kind of scary ritual chamber and he wants me well-fed so I can be a sacrifice…" she thought as she started gulping down the porridge, 'Or he's going to give me over to his demon family and I'll be a demon too! The Demon Diva!'

"Miku, is something wrong?"

"EEP!" Miku squeaked, "Oh, no, no, I just….I think I burned my tongue!"

She wagged her tongue outside her mouth to try and further her story. "I just ate it too fast!"

Kaito looked somewhat saddened. "I probably should have let it cool a little longer before giving it to you…"

And there were those eyes again that Miku came to recognize were a constant feature of Kaito's lower moods. When something upset him, he tended to try not to say anything, but the emotions she could read in his downcast eyes always made her _extra_ guilty when she realized she'd been the source.

Miku still stood at a crossroads with her host. She didn't exactly believe him to be "evil" – he'd been far too kind to her up to this point. And little by little his manner frightened her less. It wasn't hard, after seeing him bedridden from the incident at the lake, Miku had seen him too helpless to be truly scared of him anymore.

But there always lingered that nagging doubt – the stories obviously got some major details wrong, but he remained evasive whenever she prodded too hard about his past. She just knew that the Demon Prince was keeping some kind of awful secret from her. Every fanged smile reminded her of that truth.

Yet when she'd slip, making some kind of comment or expression that made her discomfort more obvious, she'd spot that unmistakable expression of sorrow. Whatever happened to him to make him what he was now, he remained extremely self-conscience of how it divided him from Miku. And even in spite of Miku's misgivings, she still felt terrible being part of the cause of that divide.

Miku began to eat her porridge with greater gusto. "Aren't you going to burn your tongue again?" Kaito asked when he noticed.

As Miku slammed the empty bowl on the table, she gave him her perkiest, largest grin. "Not when I eat it fast enough!" she declared, "Besides, now I'm too excited to see your castle than to wait around eating!"

* * *

><p>"Ummm… how much farther, Kaito?" Miku asked, trying to suppress the nervous quaking of her voice. As they walked outside the castle, Kaito had suddenly asked her to close her eyes so he could show her a surprise. And hence the girl found herself being led by the hand by the Demon Prince without any indication of where she was going. The crunching of snow under her boots gave her little indication of their direction. Kaito's enormous hands nearly engulfed her own, giving her some warmth but also a very physical reminder of his non-humanity. Scales and claws did not reassure her.<p>

"We're almost there, Miku," he said, his voice betraying no secrets.

Her curiosity increased when she stopped feeling the snow under her feet and a fragrant aroma drifted in her nose. 'It feels like I'm walking on… grass and dirt?' she thought to herself, 'But how can that be possible?'

Soon she felt him cease guiding her around. Miku braced herself for some nasty secret. "Okay, you can open your eyes now," she heard Kaito say.

Miku flung her eyes open ready to face down whatever threat was before her. But she saw no great tableau of horror. Before her eyes stretched out the very gardens she'd wandered into absent-mindedly so many months before. But instead of them being dormant and empty, the winter snow had not even touched them and every plant and flower stayed in full bloom. An oasis of color in the endless stretches of white snow.

"Oh…oh my….by the spirits, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed in wonderment, "Kaito, what did you do?!"

"The gardens were a gift of the spirits a long time ago," he explained.

His voice hitched before he continued. "As a sign of friendship with the immortal Fair Folk."

As Miku turned to face him, she thought she noticed a flicker of that familiar sadness in his eyes as he finished his story. "And you've been taking care of them all this time? By yourself?!"

He nodded to her softly, looking a little proud of himself. He approached one of the trellises where vines of white jasmine climbed to the very top. "The only way for these gardens to die off is for me to cease caring for them," he added, inspecting the delicate leaves with a light touch, "I was actually worried about them being untended for the last two weeks, but they seem to be holding up okay..."

Miku spotted rows of blue roses in the distance. She'd first encountered Kaito kneeling in those very bushes. Of course, something _else_ had happened that made her feel somewhat guilty. "Um… I never got to apologize properly for taking that rose, Kaito," she said, tracing her toe around in the dirt.

'And for running away screaming,' she thought, but decided not to say it so they could try and move past the awkward incident. She bowed her head to him in penance. "I hope you can forgive me."

Another fanged smile. Miku tried to ignore the fangs and focus on the kindness in his eyes. "Actually, I wanted to bring you here for a reason."

He motioned to the gardens. "As long as you're a guest in my home, you can take all the flowers you want."

Miku's face lit up, her eyes turning to glittering stars. "Really?! You mean it?! Oh thank you, thank you, thank youuuuuuu!"

Her heart light, Miku made a beeline for the blue roses. But as she finally had time to truly appreciate the garden's majesty, she found all number of different colored roses around her. Flowers of all shapes and sizes and a lovely mix of fragrances. The garden stretched out farther than she could see the end of. How could just one person maintain such a massive garden?!

_Monsters destroy pretty things._

'Well, Kaito certainly doesn't,' Miku thought as she knelt down before a well-tended bush and thought of how gently he treated the jasmines only moments ago, 'I've never seen a garden so well kept before. Maybe the flowers are all he has…'

She snickered as she tried to imagine telling Len that the feared "Demon Prince" spent his days tending plants instead of eating humans. She glanced up at Kaito, who hadn't taken his eyes off of her. She waved at him with a full heart. "I'm going to pick a bunch for a bouquet!" she shouted.

* * *

><p>Kaito watched as Miku kept darting from bush to bush, seemingly unable to decide on just one flower or rose. "It's like watching a child play in a meadow," he whispered.<p>

"Easy to forget she's a grown woman when she gets like this," quipped Gakupo, who leaned against a trellis covered in sweet pea vines, "How did you think to take her to the garden anyway?"

"I figured if she'd already found the gardens, she'd have said something about it," Kaito replied, "Her chores wouldn't have taken her back here though. And she really seemed to love the roses in the summer…"

The bright smile on Miku's face gave Kaito some relief. His careful eyes had detected how nervous she'd begun to get around him since his recovery. 'But of course,' he'd reminded himself, 'she's a human, she's supposed to be guarded around creatures like _me_.'

As much as he yearned for her to trust him completely, she'd hardly been the first human frightened of him. He'd remained well aware of how small and delicate her hands felt in his massive claws as she trembled in fear, the feeling of soft skin against his rough scales. They were so different, he still felt overwhelmed at how much he'd have to do to woo someone as pretty as Miku when he still felt as if he didn't have the right to touch her.

That and he _definitely_ caught her looking at his fangs more than a few times.

Given her light mood in his beloved garden, he hoped he'd managed to finally convince her of his intentions. 'I can't believe she was still so obsessed over that rose though. I'd forgotten all about it.' He'd have to remember her love for the blue roses for a later time.

Gakupo plucked a purple iris from a flower pot and began to toy with it. "Back in my home country, we revered the meanings of flowers."

"You've told me this before," Kaito said.

"Roses have so many different feelings, all determined by the shade of the petals. Friendship, innocence, trust…true love."

"…and the blue rose?" Kaito interrupted.

Gakupo seemed to fumble to attach the iris to his _jinbaori_. Clearly, while he was permitted to hold onto a flower, he couldn't expect the flower to stay apart of him. 'Probably for the best,' Kaito thought as he envisioned Miku's no-doubt dramatic reaction to watching a flower follow them around the castle.

"We didn't have them. To be truthful, Prince, this is the only garden in the world I've ever seen them. I can only assume that shade came from your 'Fair Folk'."

Kaito lowered his head. Memories of the times before drifted into his head, memories he'd locked away as his once happy life became further and further out of reach. The flowers were older than he by several generations, but as they were a gift to the royal family, it fell to the royal family to maintain them as a show of respect. All because a young king several generations ago simply loved flowers.

That king brought his family and his kingdom joy and goodwill.

Kaito wiped them out in an afternoon.

Miku's singing echoed around the garden as she floated around, practically dancing as she soared through the bushes.

"_From far away, I was looking at your sad face, they're the same as the tears from the sky…"_

She'd managed to weave several of the roses into a flower crown that she now wore as she flitted across the garden. Kaito thought about how ethereal she appeared, her long twin tails twirling around her body, the roses nestled gently on her head, illuminated by the late morning sun.

"_My whole mind, my whole body, all of them are the illusions in my memories…_"

"I remember when you used to sing like that, my Lord," Gakupo said, "Now you do it so rarely…"

"Song comes from the heart, Gakupo," Kaito responded, "It's easier for someone with a heart as light as hers. She could probably sing even if the world collapsed around her."

* * *

><p>"<em>If we lift our face and smile, that will become a magic to recover our beaming faces…"<em>

'Such a light-hearted melody,' Miku thought to herself as she sang freely, 'for a song about true love…'

Miku memorized the lyrics from a book of songs she'd had her father pick up for her in Arlisia. She'd practiced it frequently… back at home, where she had a piano. Her mood was so light she practically danced from bush to bush as her arms were full of flowers.

"_My whole mind…My whole…body…"_

She stopped her dancing as she looked back to Kaito, still standing at the stone steps into the garden but still not choosing to join her. 'Is he talking to someone?' she thought to herself. It looked like his mouth was moving and he was acknowledging another person, but she saw nothing nearby. Kaito looked surprisingly upset for someone who'd seemed so happy to show her his garden only a little while earlier.

Hoisting up her massive floral bounty, Miku skipped over to him lightly. "Kaito!" she chirped to get his attention.

He snapped out of his reverie to meet her gaze. She spotted it again – _those_ eyes. But she hadn't said anything to him to upset him… did he just tend to lose himself in his thoughts from time to time? "I'm sorry…did you get all the flowers you wanted, Miku?" Kaito asked her.

'Well… that mood has got to go!' she decided.

Miku plucked a blue rose out of the armful of flowers she held, studying it carefully against Kaito's clothing. With a proud smile, she tucked the rose onto the lapel of his white overcoat. She beamed from ear to ear as she admired the look. "Look how dapper you are now!"

Kaito touched the flower like it were some foreign object. "You really think so?"

He didn't look like he entirely believed her, but she noticed the sadness fade from his eyes. She stared at him intently, waiting for his expression to warm up. She grew impatient as he stayed largely stoic. "You should really smile more," Miku found herself saying.

Kaito looked perplexed. "It isn't frightening to you?"

Miku made a little noise. _'_He DID notice!' she scolded herself.

She shook her head a little too fast to try and cover for her previous behavior, her pigtails swaying to and fro quickly from the force of her head movement. "No, no, no!" she said. She made a sterner face at him. "But if you just stare at me like that all sour, I'll think you don't like it when I give you something…"

_That_ got his attention. "But Miku, of course I'm happy! It's just that I…"

Miku shifted the flowers in her arms enough to raise her hands to her mouth, pointing at the corners of her mouth as she gave him an oversized, comical grin. "Smile! Just one!"

Kaito followed her insistences and gave her a nervous smile. This time, Miku willed herself to look past those sharp fangs that upset her so much. She didn't slip into her usual nervous fit and just tried to focus on how good it was that Kaito was happy. She felt her fears of him dissipate, replaced by cheer that she'd managed to improve his mood.

"There, better!" she said, shifting her arms to better support the mighty bundle she'd hauled back, "Anyway, I've got more than enough of these for the centerpiece! We should go inside!"

* * *

><p>"Here, this vase is a family heirloom."<p>

Kaito handed Miku an enormous, ornate white stone vase. "Ohhhh, it's so pretty!"

The array of flowers spread out across the dining table. In truth, Kaito wasn't sure that she'd actually succeed in fitting all of them inside – he'd entirely under estimated Miku's enthusiasm for his garden. Miku started to arrange the roses in the vase, humming all the while. As he watched her work, Kaito remained lost in thought. He had just given Miku something she loved, but now he didn't know what else to say or do. He glanced across the room and saw the watchful eye of Gakupo. He couldn't squander this opportunity. Miku had actually asked him to smile, after all.

"So, Kaito, do you grow vegetables in that garden too?"

Once again, Miku was faster. "It's just, I thought it was odd that you had _spring_ onions in the middle of winter."

Well, this was easy enough. "One of the boons of the garden," Kaito explained, "I already checked on the vegetables before I took you out back though, so I know they're still growing fine."

Miku returned to humming. Kaito tried to think of anything else he could say to bridge the conversation gap.

"Do you have any kind of formal training?" he asked, grasping at Miku's singing voice.

"For flower arrangement?" Miku asked, giggling.

"No, your voice."

"Do you think it's bad?!" she asked, her eyes tearing up.

"What?! No, of course not!" Kaito protested, panicking that he'd offended her, "Your voice is lovely! You have a lot of raw talent!"

Just like that, Miku's eyes went from teary to starry. "Ohhh, you think so?" she said, "I like to be modest about it, you know!"

'This girl's moods swing faster than a pendulum…' Kaito thought to himself.

"I practice all the time back home," Miku said, "I told you, I'm going to be a famous diva and snag a prince!"

There was that "prince" again.

"So did you ever find a teacher?"

Miku looked a little downcast. "Well, no…there's no big troupes in Melodia and my father never let me leave for Arlisia to find one."

He'd guessed right about her level of experience. "Still! I'm going to impress someone with my skills and get a teacher that way! That's why I practice EVERY SINGLE DAY!"

The tealette girl's eyes burned with the flames of her passion. The Demon Prince struggled not to laugh at the serious expression on her face. "Well, if you need help with practice," he said, "There's a grand piano in the ballroom. I'll need to tune it but…"

Miku got so excited she almost dropped the "priceless heirloom" vase right there. "You can fix that piano!? Can you play?! It's a lot easier for me to practice singing if I don't have to play the piano too!"

'A long time ago…' Kaito thought to himself. In happier times, he'd played several instruments and learned to sing from the best tutors. He'd been able to use music as an escape from the pressures of his life.

These were not happier times. As he'd said to Gakupo, song came from the heart – and the piano had lain unused for so long because music _also_ came from the heart. But maybe, if it would give him a chance to be closer to Miku…

* * *

><p>With a lot of effort, Kaito had the piano ready by mid-afternoon. Once he felt the tone was just right, he decided to refresh his memory of his skills by playing a song he'd learned as a child from memory alone. At first, Kaito's ability was rough and uneven – he'd clearly fallen out of practice and hadn't read a single line of music in decades. Not to mention he'd learned to play when he had <em>human <em>hands, while his _current_ hands were far larger and required more care lest he damage the keys with his claws. For a short while, he felt melancholy that even his attempt to make music was impeded by his form.

But after a few false starts, he felt more comfortable and the familiar melody flowed from his fingertips with ease. He began to lose himself to the serenity of the music. The calm of releasing his emotions through a few quick strokes on the ivory keys was a memory he'd long forgotten.

"That song is so beautiful…" Miku sighed behind him.

So enraptured in his own piano, Kaito hadn't heard anyone else entering the ballroom. "It's a song about a man who ended a war by playing a harp for the gods…" he explained as he continued to play through the song.

Once he'd finished his piece, Miku clapped her hands for him. "I knew I was right to ask you!" she said cheerfully.

Miku placed a few sheets of music in front of her new partner in music. He saw the words "Rolling Girl" written at the top. Kaito glanced it over, mentally rehearsing the song and how fast he'd need to play. Though the piece possessed a rather speedy tempo, he felt confident he could keep pace. "Are you ready?" he asked her.

Miku seemed barely able to contain her glee at having a partner. "I'm ready, Kaito! Just play the first few bars and I'll come right in!"

Kaito took a deep breath and exhaled his nervousness. He began to play the unfamiliar melody, quickly increasing his tempo and surrendering himself to the music.

"_The lonely girl dreams the impossible as she pleases, there's so much going on in that noisy head of hers…"_

The sudden introduction of Miku's voice caused him to slip on a few notes – Kaito realized that in spite of playing by himself or singing with a teacher, he'd never actually been the player for another singer himself. Fortunately, Miku either didn't notice his mistake, or remained far too focused on her own voice to stop the song and scold him. He tried to zero in on just his playing so he didn't ruin Miku's song.

"_One more time, one more time, I will roll today too." The girl says, the girl says as she orchestrated the meaning of her spoken words!"_

But trying to just focus on his own playing proved difficult as his heart was pounding through his chest. Miku's voice was taking hold over him, even as rough and unpolished as her technique was. She seemed to start speeding up as Kaito realized in his haste, he had only been playing the notes and not paying attention to how the melody flowed with Miku. Such complexity than when playing by himself! He moved to correct himself lest he spoil her song…

"_The rolling girl is at the end, and the color beyond is unreachable… the overlapping voices in the air, she mixes them all together, mixes them all together…"_

Kaito had slowed down enough that Miku didn't sound breathless trying to play with him. 'Good…' he assured himself, 'I can still finish this for her.'

"_One more time, one more time, I willl roll today too." The girl says, the girl says, playing her words with a smile!_"

He closed on the final bars of the song. By this point, he'd begun to struggle again to stay with Miku's voice while keeping the song playing at a decent tempo. He dreaded how much effort he was putting her through.

_"Are you all right now? It's okay. You must be tired, right? I want to stop breathing!"_

Kaito ceased playing. He was a bundle of nerves – surely he'd just ruined Miku's practice with his amateur work. He expected she'd be upset with him and demand the piano for herself, something he'd gladly allow her to have rather than embarrass himself again…

But rather than demand the piano from him, Miku gave him a small round of applause. "You're not half bad," she said, "I mean, that was just your first time playing it, but you almost kept up with me!"

She switched out the sheet music for a new song. "Wait…you want me to play _more_?" Kaito asked in disbelief.

His partner folded her hands and looked at him pleadingly. "Pleeeeeeease? I don't get to perform with a partner that often, and if I'm going to get into a troupe in Arlisia, I need to be able to work with a live musician!"

Apparently Miku took his shock for disinterest. "I can play as long as you need!" he said quickly, hoping to quash that impression.

Miku let out a cheer of joy. "All right! Let's see how far we can go!"

As the afternoon continued, Kaito began to relax his tensions and just focus on the soothing power of his piano. He'd forgotten how much he used to enjoy having music to comfort him during emotionally trying times. Even before the curse, the threat of war and his responsibilities constantly loomed over him and sometimes he'd retreat into hours of piano playing when he didn't have any gardening to do. Hearing Miku's soothing voice only seemed to aid in granting him that rare relaxation he yearned for. It reminded him of the last time he had a singing partner to share his troubles with…

By the end of Miku's session, she'd agreed – she wanted Kaito's help every day from now on. As she bid him farewell to prepare a dinner for them, she tapped the rose on his jacket with a smile. "Thank you, Mr. Dapper Kaito," she said, before turning and leaving the room.

As Kaito was left alone again, he realized that for the first time in so many long lonely years, he was happy. For so long, he'd little drive to do anything save for tend to the garden. But Miku inspired him to fix up his old piano and, after so long of staying silent and believing his heart too empty, he released himself through music. Whether he broke his curse or not, he resolved to cherish every moment he had to spend with Miku this winter.

Kaito touched the rose he'd gotten from the cheerful girl. He'd have to find somewhere special to store it. He walked to his bed chamber to find somewhere safe, searching for a box or jar. Yet as he rooted through his drawers and boxes, he stumbled across an object in the top drawer of his dressed that broke his mood.

Deep in the back of the drawer was an elegant porcelain mirror with ancient runes upon the trim. The glass lay chipped and fragmented, the frame with several large cracks, rendering it largely useless as a mirror – or as a window to the outside world. Kaito pulled the mirror out, careful to gather all of the shards. He examined it closely, his eyes flickering with a variety of emotions as he reflected on that awful day that the mirror had shattered in his panic to escape from the humans trying to kill him and he'd lost his safest way out of the castle.

Yet the mirror was not beyond repair – he'd just had no grand urge to undergo the process. His last journey to a big human city nearly ended his life, and he never wanted to leave the safety of his home again after that. He no longer yearned for a way to watch the world outside the castle either, for seeing a world he could not participate in only made his losses feel greater. But… Miku could make use of it. Trapped in his castle by the seasonal snow, she no doubt missed her family, her friends, her old life, her dream.

This mirror could send Miku back home in an instant, if Kaito could successfully repair it. Instead of being forced to wait until the snow melted, a quick incantation would end her isolation from her friends and family. Yet… the winter he'd planned would end the second he gave it to her.

As much as he hated the idea of Miku leaving, he felt pangs of guilt for wanting to keep her. He of all people understood what it meant to become trapped, and he did not wish to inflict it upon another. Especially not Miku. He possessed the knowledge of how to repair the mirror – it would only be right and proper to repair it as soon as possible and give Miku the choice of whether to stay or leave.

The procedure would take some time – a few weeks at least. In that case, he had no real reason to tell Miku of it – he'd also need to test the mirror's abilities to ensure the spell still worked. If he failed to repair it properly, he could render the entire mirror useless – and possibly life-threatening.

Kaito placed the mirror and the fragments back in the drawer as he heard Miku calling him down to the dining room. He resolved not to tell her about the possible exit right now – if he failed to repair the mirror, he reasoned, he'd only disappoint her.

And, allowing himself a moment of selfishness, he did not want Miku to spend every day obsessed with leaving.

* * *

><p>As Kaito entered the dining room, Miku was fluffing her rose bouquet one last time and humming "Rolling Girl" to herself. She'd had such a wonderful day… the "Demon Prince" seemed to be going out of his way to keep her happy and entertained. For all her wild imaginings of some nefarious scheme, he'd come through for her all day with one lovely treat after another.<p>

'I need to stop doubting him so much…' she thought to herself.

She remembered the lovely but sad melody he'd practiced the piano on before she started to perform her duet with him. 'To choose such a sad song, he must be carrying a lot of burdens on his heart…' Miku loathed the idea that she'd been adding to those burdens.

She glanced up at Kaito as she finished setting the table. He was looking intently at her face. Having his black-and-red eyes on her so seriously gave her a slight chill, even in spite of her earlier thoughts about him. She kept trying to remind herself that he meant no harm…

"Miku…" he said softly.

"Yes, Kaito?" she said, carefully controlling her voice.

He took a deep breath. "That flower crown…"

"Eh?"

Miku touched a hand to her hair and she felt the soft rose petals atop her head. Her cheeks turned red with embarrassment – she'd been wearing that crown on her head _all day_. "Oh, I must look ridiculous with this in my hair!" she said hastily, about to rip it out, "I'll take it off right now and – "

"…it looks beautiful."

Miku turned even redder at the compliment. She looked away from Kaito to try and control the rush of emotions she felt. 'Say something, you idiot,' she thought, 'He just complimented you! And it looked like it was really hard for him to get up the courage to say it!'

'But he's a demon! You can't let down your guard for them!'

'….he's been nothing but kind.'

'But you don't even know what he wants!'

Miku took a deep breath of her own, trying to silence the conflicting voices in her heart. She turned back to face him. She saw nothing but sincerity in his eyes. With a tiny smile, she said "Thank you, Kaito."

The rest of their dinner consisted of less eventful conversation. But despite having her childish whims called out to her… she found she didn't particularly want to take the flowers out of her hair until she crawled into bed that night.

* * *

><p><em>AN:_

_It seems there are no Beauty and the Beast stories where roses don't factor in somewhere. They're pretty much an indelible part of the story, be they a stolen rose traded for a woman's life or just a symbol of the Beast's fading humanity. The folktale I took the title from featured a garden that never wilted. But of course I had to put my own spin on it, hence the addition of blue roses. Hey, Cantarella Kaito sure loves em', so Demon Prince Kaito gets to have a whole garden of full of em'._

_"Hanakotoba", which is what Gakupo starts talking about, is a real tradition. While there is no Japan in this setting, Gakupo is intended to be from a fictional analog to it, hence why he's a "samurai" and talks about the meanings of flowers from a Japanese perspective. And it only makes sense that Gakupo is so attached to a purple Iris – in addition to the coloring being an obvious favorite of his, the purple iris can symbolize "loyalty." I do think that's perfect for a samurai._

_Seriously, go look up some stuff on "hanakotoba", it's quite fascinating, and it's fun to use for fanfic fodder. Go forth and put a bunch of flower references in your vocaloid fanfics!_

_Song Credits:_

_Miku sang __Freely Tomorrow__ to herself in the garden. Guess I just had Project Diva on my mind during this one! Also, though I didn't include lyrics, Kaito was playing __Pane Dhiria__ on the piano before Miku walked in. He described the plot of the song to her when she asked her about it. I got to see him perform this very song live in NYC, so of course I made an excuse to slip it in in some form. Ah... Kaito in person..._

_Rolling Girl__… yea, I don't have to point it out… except… here's a teaser for next week – it's got covers of both Kaito singing alone, and Kaito alternating versus with Miku. I shall say no more. Yea, just try to imagine poor Kaito banging on the piano to this with no warm up._

_Hope you American Vocaloid fans picked up your Project Diva F 2nd copies on Tuesday! Kaito's room is waiting for you..._


	5. Chapter 5: The Immortal Song

**Chapter 5: The Immortal Song**

_The audience listened with rapt attention as Miku, the glamorous soloist, serenaded the theater with her glorious melody. Her snow-white gown glowed under the soft aura of the stage lights._

_As she finished her song, the audience erupted into thundering applause. Miku gracefully bowed towards her adoring public as red roses showered the stage._

_After giving her audience the attention they deserved, she began her exit from the stage. As she made her way towards the curtains, she stopped her departure as something unusual caught her eye. Amongst the dozens upon dozens of red roses blanketing the stage lay a single blue rose._

_Miku knelt down and picked it up by the stem, examining it against the spotlight. Only one person could have sent her this._

_She clutched the rose tightly to her chest as she crossed the curtain. Awaiting her was a handsome young man in a fine silk suit, a glimmering crown upon his head. He approached her, clutching an elegant box in his arms. "Miku, you are the world's finest Diva! I present to you this fine gift if only you'll accept my marriage proposal and become my Princess!"_

_As he lifted the lid to show her more jewels than she could count, Miku grew excited and began to speak. But out of the corner of her eye, she spied a familiar silhouette in the doorway to the outside that made her hesitate…_

* * *

><p>Miku awoke from her evening's slumber with a sense of confusion. Every other time she had this dream, she unquestioningly agreed to marry the prince. After all, he completed her lifelong dream of living an easy life as the princess to a glamorous husband and being a world-renowned star. Yet this time, where she once unquestioningly took the box of jewels and the easy life… this time she found herself having second thoughts.<p>

"It must have been that mysterious stranger," Miku said to herself, "I wonder who he was? And why he'd make me change my mind like that?"

That "mysterious stranger" would have to wait until another day – she still had a breakfast to cook.

In the weeks since Kaito's health returned, the two had fallen into a rather stable routine. In the mornings, Miku prepared the breakfast as Kaito tended to the gardens. She'd asked him more than once if she could help in this gargantuan task, but on this point he remained firm – for the enchantment to remain, he couldn't pass on his responsibilities to someone outside his family. But he did welcome her company, and on more than a few mornings Miku found herself obliging if only to change up her routine and have someone to talk to.

Enchantments and magic were a subject Miku still didn't entirely grasp – while everyone in Melodia certainly believed in the "good spirits" that protected their homes, few of them truly believed in magic. And what had Kaito called them? "The Fair Folk?" Growing up, she and the other children used to tell each other stories about the fairies – maybe it was just another word for them. But her father always insisted that's all the "fairies" were, just stories.

Like the "Demon Prince."

Even if the nature of magic and those who used magic meant little to Miku, there still remained evidence of its existence in the perpetually blooming gardens. And surely Kaito would not have invoked them as he did were they not real. While Kaito seemed to appreciate a playful joke from Miku, he never told them himself.

Miku's mind turned over the many stories she and the other children shared about the fairies, wondering if any of them might shed some clues on the magic in Kaito's castle. Rin often told a story about a girl who rescued a Prince from being enchanted to literally dance to his death by a group of playful faeries. Meiko once shared a tale of a peasant girl who, to save her true love from becoming a tithe to Hell by the Queen of the Faeries herself, had to hold him tightly as the Queen transformed him into any number of horrifying creatures. As Miku reflected on all of these tales, the Fair Folk sounded as though they could be incredibly cruel if even one of those stories were true. Yet Kaito seemed unafraid of them as a group, even if the Demon Prince stories were true and he himself was a victim of a fairy's magic…

"_Alone on a grey hill, I tread on the dry withered grass as it stiffens, going around in my thoughts is the faraway place that is the sky…"_

Miku stopped in place as a very familiar song reached her ears. She'd heard that voice many months ago, on that fateful summer day. That sad, mournful tone that lured her deep into the Demon Prince's garden. The day she met Kaito for the first time.

The breakfast could wait. Miku had to discover whose song that was. Maybe it belonged to one of Kaito's "Fair Folk" or a spirit. Or maybe… just maybe…

"_The petals swaying in the wind are your tender smile, fragments of faint memories are an illusion on the other side of the sepia color…"_

Miku _had_ heard of this song, many years ago. A passing bard through Melodia performed it once as payment for a place to stay. A song about an immortal, artificial man who sang for a thousand years as a solemn tribute to a person he'd loved and refused to forget. A song that always made Miku's heart ache as she thought of the loneliness and isolation the man in the song must have suffered.

The voice drew her back into the garden again. Miku slowed down, walking on tip-toes so as not to disturb the soloist. This time, nothing would distract her from uncovering his identity…

"_Although this entire body of mine is nothing but artificial, at least let this heart be dedicated to you in song…"_

Miku concealed herself behind a tall hedge. The source of the voice was _right_ on the other side. As her heart thumped with anticipation, she parted the leaves carefully to finally peak at the identity of her mystery singer…

"_Facing the setting evening sun, a faded guitar in one hand, a shadowed figure dances in the resounding echoes…"_

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Miku stared in utter disbelief as she watched her "Demon Prince" hard at work on his gardening, the gorgeous melody passing through his lips as he went about his task. He seemed utterly unaware that he had an audience as he gently clipped a few leaves from one of the rose bushes, careful to only clear out the dead leaves while preserving the live plants. Miku turned away in a hurry, staring at the trellis coated in morning glories as her thoughts raced back to that summer day.

"_Although we can no longer meet under this moon, facing this sky, I'll continue to sing…"_

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Her heart pounded as she realized all this time the man she'd treated so poorly had been the same man whose voice gave her such joy. She took another peek through the hedge, observing him more closely. Kaito looked so serene, so peaceful, as if the act of song granted him joy in spite of the melody's melancholic story.

"_Then on the hill of violets where I met with you by chance, In thousands of nights, there will be grey remains…"_

Thump. Thump. Thump.

She didn't know what to say. Should she say anything? All those days the two of them practiced at the piano, Kaito remained silent as he gracefully played each melody for Miku on command. Did he even want her to know he possessed such a wonderful voice? Was it a secret? Maybe he didn't like the idea of others hearing him? But his voice was so beautiful… she hated only having heard it by essentially sneaking up on him…

"_Although we can no longer meet under this moon, facing this sky, I'll continue to sing…"_

As Kaito finished his song, Miku pushed her head back through the bushes, trying to process what she'd just witnessed. She suddenly whipped her head up as something strange appeared in the corner of her eye – someone was standing at the top of the steps into the garden. Miku rubbed her eyes and looked again. She could have sworn she'd seen a man with long, purple hair, but as she looked to the steps a second time, there appeared to be no other people in the garden but Kaito and she.

'Why would I imagine a guy with purple hair?' she thought.

She put him out of her mind – she had chores to do. Quietly, Miku rose to her feet and tip-toed back out of the garden. She heard Kaito begin to sing again. She bit her lip. She needed to go make the breakfast, but at the same time, she yearned to hear more. A pink butterfly drifted past her head as she tried to make her decision.

* * *

><p>Gakupo watched the Miku girl crawl behind the morning glory trellis and kneel down out of sight, using the vines to hide her presence from the unaware Kaito. Clearly she'd decided she was more interested in hearing Kaito's unwitting vocal performances then getting on with her morning chores.<p>

The _first_ time he'd seen her sneaking around the garden, he'd found it hilarious. The only reason Kaito hadn't seen someone as obvious as her was because whenever his Lord tended to get caught up in songs, he'd become so engrossed in the melody that he may as well have been on another world entirely. The samurai had looked forward to her over the top reaction to discovering the "mystery singer" was her feared "Demon Prince." He expected it might be the last jolt she needed to start seeing him in a better light.

At first, she didn't disappoint him – her constant exaggerated movements and double-takes had driven him to laughter. He gathered from the few shades of pale she'd turned that she even figured out just _who_ she'd insulted the first time she came sneaking into the garden to listen to a pretty voice. But then… she became a lot less entertaining.

For just a brief few seconds, _she had seen him_.

He couldn't explain how it happened. And technically, he didn't actually know whether that was true or not. Save for the panicked look she had while casting her gaze in his direction, she hadn't actually _said_ anything indicating she'd noticed the presence of the normally unseen warrior.

Gakupo had gotten so used to Miku staring straight at him that he normally gave it no heed. Those odd looks only meant that she'd coincidentally looked in his direction – to Miku, she only saw whatever lay behind him. But this time, he couldn't avoid the realization that for the first time since the wretched curse stole the humanity of his Master and the life from his own body, someone acknowledged his existence.

His curiosity got the better of him – he needed to confirm the sighting for himself. The samurai approached the crouching Miku with care, trying not to break a twig or touch anything around him. He first waved a hand in front of her face, but her gaze towards the garden did not waver. Finally, he moved to kneel down in front of her, engaging in a staring contest with the girl. "Hey… Miku girl…" he said to her barely above a whisper, "Are you listening to me?"

When Gakupo elicited no further reaction from the twin tailed girl, he accepted she could discern his presence no more. He let out a frustrated sigh and walked away. Whatever allowed him a brief moment of respite from non-existence appeared past. He kept up his observation of Miku from the trellis until his Master had finally ceased singing altogether.

Miku scrambled to conceal herself as Kaito started heading up the steps. Gakupo decided to do the same – normally he would greet his lord warmly at the end of a hard morning's work in the gardens, but Miku was right there – and if she couldn't see him, it wouldn't do for her to watch her "Demon Prince" suddenly start carrying on half of a conversation. And he didn't want to alert Kaito to the presence of an audience. Still, as he knelt behind the trellis and close to the anxious tealette to stay out of Kaito's line of sight, he felt quite ridiculous. 'The things I do for my lord…' he thought to himself.

As Kaito passed out of the garden and back into the castle, both Gakupo and Miku rose to their feet. Miku tried to brush the twigs and pink rose petals from her dress, then she quickly bolted to take another route back to the castle. Gakupo leisurely followed her back inside. He'd find a time to catch up to his lord later – when he could plausibly deny having seen him in the garden.

Kaito didn't need to know Miku's every move to woo her. In fact, Gakupo decided this might be better kept a secret – Kaito's hidden talents clearly had the girl's interest. What would be the point in telling him she already knew? He could already imagine his Master getting jumpy and nervous as he tried to conceal the knowledge of her presence in the garden, and he already had enough trouble staying calm around Miku.

'Better he find out when she decides to say something,' Gakupo thought to himself, 'Somehow I don't imagine it's going to take long.' The Miku girl, he'd learned, could be _very_ stubborn about satisfying her curiosity.

As he began to climb the steps, he stopped for just a moment as he watched a pink butterfly gliding through the garden, a trail of pink rose petals tumbling through the wind behind it. His hand reflexively touched Miburi's hilt. 'That had better not be who I think it is.'

* * *

><p>At that day's practice, Miku found her attention drawn more to her piano partner than her own singing. By this point, Miku knew the lyrics to "Rolling Girl" by heart – all she did now was take tips from Kaito on how to improve her techniques and her form. But after the morning in the garden, she thought little of herself and more about the songs she heard Kaito performing in the garden when he assumed he had no audience.<p>

She watched his hands move deftly along the ivory keys of the piano. The first day they'd practiced together, she'd certainly noticed he'd made a few mistakes in the song, but she'd thought it obvious that he still understood how to play. As days of practices turned into weeks of practices, his flaws vanished. His hands glided across the keys with grace, a perfect form from a well-trained musician.

Miku had to teach herself how to play a piano, and she could immediately tell the different between someone with real skills and an amateur like herself. So Kaito clearly possessed properly musical training beyond simply being self-taught. That would mean a long time ago, either someone taught a monster how to play the piano… or Kaito had not always been a monster.

She observed his face as he played – much like when he appeared lost in his songs in the garden, he seemed fully absorbed in his piano playing as well. She'd never seen a person so peaceful during a performance. She wondered if she could ever achieve that same level of concentration as he did…

As Miku felt her cheeks flush, she noticed Kaito's lips moving as he played the song. She ceased her own singing and sure enough, just barely audible over the piano, she could hear him singing along with the melody.

"_The rolling girl is but a mere shadow of who she once was, unable to reach the color on the other side…"_

Whoever had penned the song surely hadn't intended for it to be sung by someone in Kaito's vocal range, but even given his deeper voice, his vocals flowed with the melody.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

* * *

><p>"<em>One more time, one more time. 'I'll roll today too.' The girl says, the girl says, while playing on words-<em>"

Kaito finally realized Miku had stopped singing. He ceased his playing and looked up at her, afraid he'd made a mistake. Instead, he saw her eyes locked firmly on him, as if he'd done something truly shocking.

"Miku, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Your voice…" she whispered.

In surprise, Kaito put a hand to his mouth. Had he been so caught up in the melody that he'd begun to sing along with Miku? "I…I didn't mean to interrupt you…" he stammered.

Miku shook her head. "No, don't be embarrassed!" she protested, "Your voice is so… so beautiful! You shouldn't hide it!"

Why was someone giving him a compliment so _upsetting_? He wasn't afraid of his voice before… but something about Miku calling him out on it made him even more nervous. Had he just gotten so used to humans calling him ugly that he had completely forgotten to handle one finding any part of himself "beautiful"?

"Kaito… can you sing that song with me? I… I've sung with some of the other children back home, but… but..."

Miku seemed to get some courage up. "I've never sung with a partner like you.."

She suddenly looked embarrassed herself and added quickly, "I mean, someone in your vocal range!"

Fine. Just this one duet together and she'd forget all about it. But when she got like this, Kaito found himself having trouble letting her down. "I'll start from the beginning then…"

Kaito steadied his nerves and returned to the familiar melody he'd practiced with Miku. Once he could focus on the song again, the familiar lyrics flowed from his lips with greater confidence – after all, now he intended for her to hear him.

This time, their voices began to mingle. Long ago, Kaito had only sung with one other partner. Miku had a different range than she did though. Kaito had to slightly adjust his voice so he could complement his current partner properly. She had a much higher voice than his, so he had to take advantage of his deeper tone to create a better sense of harmony.

Yet as they got through the first few verses, Kaito thought he detected some nervousness to Miku's singing voice that she'd not displayed before. After giving her another verse to correct it, he stopped playing for a moment and glanced over to his partner.

* * *

><p>'Oh no…he stopped! I must be terrible,' she scolded herself, 'Someone with such a beautifully trained voice shouldn't have to ruin it by singing with me…'<p>

"Miku," Kaito said softly, "I've never seen you like this before."

She tried to calm her pounding heart. "I'm sorry! I just sound like such an amateur next to you…" she apologized.

Kaito looked thoughtful. "Don't think too hard about that," he assured her, "Instead of thinking about me, just focus on the sound of my voice. We're practicing together for the first time, you don't know what I sound like yet."

'But when I think about your voice…' Miku thought to herself.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

'I want to lose myself in it.'

She swallowed hard. "Just think about how you can complement it," he added, "It's all I'm doing for you. It's not as hard as you might think, you're just learning."

The twin-tailed girl nodded her head quickly. She heard the familiar melody start over again and tried to suppress her sudden timidness. She wasn't performing in front of anyone, she was just practicing! Why did she suddenly get so nervous for an audience of just Kaito, her dear friend? She tried to let his calm reassurances reach her nerves, finding some success. It was okay to make mistakes – the point of her practice was to learn to do better, after all.

As her higher voice began to merge with Kaito's, Miku began to muse on the nature of a duet. 'It's not just singing at the same time as a partner,' she thought, 'It's getting to know their soul. More intimately than even a lover's embrace.'

At the thought of "lover's embrace," Miku felt some of her nervousness creep back.

This time, Miku actually finished the duet with Kaito, though he'd still noticed she seemed somewhat flustered. "I hope that duet was everything you'd hoped you'd get out of it…"

Miku's cheeks had taken on a rosy hue. For the first time since Kaito had met her, she seemed to be at an utter loss for words. She swallowed deeply and banished the color from her face. "Kaito! Please, teach me everything you know!"

Miku delivered her request with such force Kaito felt like he was about to be knocked over. "Are you serious? I've never been a teacher before though…"

True, but clearly she _had_ noticed that he'd received formal training at some point. What if she started to pry? What if she wanted to know the truth about him? How could he conceal the truth about the curse?

"Oh, you don't have to tell me all your secrets," Miku pleaded, "Even if… if… if I could just hear you singing! That would be enough! Or perform another duet together! Or… or… or…"

The red returned to Miku's cheeks as she spoke of listening to Kaito sing. He couldn't understand what had gotten into her. But if it would make her happy… if he could help her achieve her dream while getting closer to her…

"I'd be glad to help you."

Miku's eyes turned to stars again. "Oh, thank you! I can't wait to hear you…"

She caught herself and flushed even redder. "I can't wait to _learn_ from you!" she said.

* * *

><p>"<em>Swaying in the season for farewells is a fleeting flower, seeking the same warmth in the wind, we all walk in search…"<em>

As the somewhat comical scene played out in front of him, Gakupo decided his earlier decision had been the correct one. Kaito became self-conscious of course – he rarely seemed to understand the effect his voice had on others in the past, why should he now? But better he get flustered by having Miku point it out to him.

And as for Miku… he considered it good fortune she hadn't begun to pry into _where_ Kaito got his voice lessons. They still needed to keep these secrets from her if they expected to break the curse. And telling her there was a curse at all seemed counter-productive. Especially if they told her breaking it required her to fall in love with a Demon Prince.

"_Even if our pace is different, as long as the future we paint is the same, then it's okay, because we can begin at the same place again…"_

He glanced around the ballroom and noticed the entire room seemed lighter. Had Miku noticed? More importantly, had Kaito noticed? The floor contained far less cracks and the paintings seemed just a bit less faded and flaking. The mold and moss appeared to be receding. Gakupo wondered if he should say anything. With a small laugh, he thought of how much more nervous Kaito would get if he realized the connection between the nicer state of his home and Miku's own feelings toward him.

As pink rose petals drifted in the wind, Gakupo's narrowed. His eyes darted around the ballroom until he saw _her_. Silent. Unnoticed. Unwavering. He only spotted her because unlike the _living_ occupants of the castle, Gakupo had the freedom to notice everything no matter how small. 'So the butterfly wasn't a fluke.'

Gakupo's hand tightened around Miburi again as he made his way out of the ballroom and found the open window their intruder stood in front of. "Luka," he said, his voice dangerous.

The pink-haired fairy wore an otherworldly black, gold, and purple gown. Whether the Fair Folk could truly die from cold, he didn't know. She certainly didn't appear concerned given her bare shoulders in the snow. Her ornate pink and black wings remained as motionless as the rest of her. Her wings recalled the image of a butterfly – but as Gakupo would state on numerous occasions, a butterfly did not have the capacity for evil that she possessed.

Upon being acknowledged, the fairy's golden eyes left the ballroom and turned to Gakupo's direction. Her face appeared dark upon seeing him. "What in the world are you doing here?" the samurai demanded, trying to keep his voice down so as not to draw Kaito's attention outside.

"I merely wished to approach the Prince with an offer out of kindness," she said. Like the rest of her kin, she wore a mask of indifference – the fairies loathed letting humans get even a glimpse of their true hearts. "Yet I see he's been… distracted by something."

"Kindness. You dare speak of kindness after what you did to him?!"

"_Blossoming in the short spring, the dreams go through the long winter, the seeds that I collect in my heart, what kind of light do I provide for them?"_

Infuriatingly, Luka appeared to ignore Gakupo, turning her gaze back to monitor the Prince and Miku. "It was my duty as an immortal to judge him for his weakness of character," she spoke plainly, "I made that quite clear."

Her eyes twitched as she witnessed him playing the piano for a star-struck Miku. The pig-tailed girl seemed to have talked him into another solo act. She had her hands clutched together, nodding along his every word. Gakupo seriously questioned if she was truly learning anything or just enjoying the show.

"I judged him for the cruelty of his heart. The punishment was appropriate."

"You call these decades of isolation 'appropriate'? Of being rejected by every soul that ever looks at him!? He's done nothing but suffer because of you and your jealousy!"

Just listening to her justifying her actions to him made the normally calm Gakupo agitated. "And what of the people who never found out what happened to their family and friends?! They've all passed away by now, and they've committed no crime against any immortal!"

Luka's gaze turned back to him, and he smirked as he saw the rage in her eyes briefly upsetting her "mask". At least their feelings for each other remained mutual.

"Every one of you was complicit in creating someone with such a wicked heart," she chided, "You may cry out that my actions were unfair, but it is only the protestations of the guilty."

"_For whom do the flowers that blossom in the shadows of the road exist? "They're not for anyone," you say, and give them light…"_

He looked inside, observing the rare happiness on his Master's face that the song drew out of him. Maybe not just the song… the presence of the person who revealed how much she cherished hearing it.

"I'll only ask you once – are you here to interfere with his personal affairs?"

He looked back to Luka, who'd recovered from her momentary slip. "It is not my place," she explained, "If he is sincere in attempting to prove he's changed his heart, then I cannot interfere."

"Even if it means he's going to fall in love with someone else?" Gakupo sounded doubtful of her intentions, "You'd be giving him up to a mortal. You expect me to believe after everything you've done that you're suddenly happy to give him up to the heart of a rival?"

Luka clenched her gloved hands, though her face remained expressionless. "I expect…" she answered, "That no mortal is capable of the love and sacrifice he seeks to break out of the chains of his own wickedness."

She turned away from the ballroom and began to depart into the snow.

"I only hope the Prince's heart is prepared for that sad truth."

"_Feelings will turn into words, and words call forth light, light creates shadows, people grow strong in shadow…"_

After she walked a few steps away, her body dissolved into a cloud of pink rose petals and glowing pink butterflies. "I intend to remain an observer. That is all," she said as her voice vanished into a gust of wind.

Gakupo clenched his sword hand tight around Miburi. Luka lurking around the castle meant Miku could be in danger. She would not attack either himself or Kaito – as despicable as he found her personality, he knew that once she'd set the terms of her curse, she was honor bound to stick by them. Direct interference could have dire consequences for her even if her honor wasn't enough to stay her hand.

Not to mention she couldn't exactly curse the two of them a second time. Kaito had been firm in explaining that to them – as nasty as being under _one_ fairy curse could be, they didn't have the power to lay down more than one.

Miku had no such protections, however. Were Luka to become truly petty, she could find all kinds of ways to harm her. And as Gakupo learned the hard way those many years ago, she proved adept at finding justifications for her heavy-handed punishments.

Yet again, the need for secrecy reared its head – they were finally making progress in lifting the curse. Miku had to remain in the dark – because if all went well, the sleeping kingdom would awaken, his master would return to his true form, and Gakupo would finally go back to being truly alive again. Luka may rage against them, but she could not curse them again – she'd have to stew for the rest of her eternal life over having engineered her own loss.

Still, while he was in the unfortunate position of not being able to warn the Miku girl about Luka, Gakupo did know that he had to alert Kaito. The two of them needed to decide how to keep Miku safe.

"_The pain that we share together will turn into happiness before you know it…"_

* * *

><p>Kaito watched as Miku skipped out of the ballroom to start cooking their dinner, his heart a swarm of emotions. He got the feeling that somehow, he'd impressed Miku. And he hadn't needed to go out of his way to do it – he just had to sing, something he'd always loved to do.<p>

'_Your voice is so… so beautiful!'_

Kaito touched a hand to his throat. For a few moments, he felt grateful that the curse which had cruelly stolen his humanity had not taken his voice with it. Today, without even meaning to, he felt as though he'd finally been able to reach out to Miku. The intimacy of performing a duet with her… her constantly begging "just one more" song out of him…

Perhaps Luka had spared his voice because she too loved it too much herself…

"My Lord, we have a problem."

Kaito looked up from the piano to see Gakupo marching toward him. The samurai bore a serious expression on his face. All thoughts of singing with Miku vanished from Kaito's mind. "What happened?" he asked.

"Luka was here."

Kaito felt a chill pass through his body at the thought of his former friend's presence again. "What did she want?" he asked, trying to control the fear in his voice. Now he understood why Gakupo seemed so filled with rage.

"She claimed she merely wished to observe," the samurai explained, "She's rather convinced you're going to fail."

Kaito felt his confidence from earlier fading. At any moment, Luka could be watching him with Miku, trying to judge whether they met her exacting standards. At any moment… Luka could be watching Miku…

"Miku! Did she say anything about Miku?!" Kaito asked.

"Not Miku specifically…" Gakupo said.

Kaito let out a sigh of relief. So she wasn't targeting Miku. At least not _yet._ But Kaito knew how the fairies behaved – better than Gakupo, at least. The samurai's attitude towards them remained quite cynical. Kaito, however, had grown up around them. As long as Miku did not commit some grievous moral sin, Luka could not harm her. At least… Kaito hoped she wouldn't.

Yet, the more he thought of Miku's safety, the more he found himself feeling doubts. He'd learned the hard way that he didn't know the fairies as well as he thought. He didn't know _Luka_ as well as he'd thought.

He hadn't seen Luka since the day his own folly cost himself, his loved ones, and his entire kingdom everything. Since she'd left him frozen in time. She'd seemed content to let him suffer the consequences alone. What changed? Why reveal herself now?

Miku?

"My Lord," Gakupo interjected, "Just ensure nothing happens to Miku, I intend to keep vigil over her at night."

An innocent request until Kaito imagined what "keeping vigil" could mean. "You're going to monitor everything she does at night?!" he protested, "Invade her privacy?"

The samurai let out a sigh. "Surely my Lord knows by now I have no untoward intentions to the Miku girl," he stated, "But you can't very well do it yourself – she won't react well to you just sitting there and staring at her. But she can't see me. I have no need for sleep, so I may as well spend those hours ensuring her protection."

As much as Kaito hated the idea of his companion having such a long watch over Miku's most private moments, he relented. Better that than the chance of Luka harming her, no matter how small it may be.

"You'll call for me if anything happens, right?" Kaito asked.

"Of course," Gakupo assured him.

Kaito wished he could tell her the truth so that she might contribute to her own protection, but as precarious as the curse was… he didn't want to risk anything.

* * *

><p>As Miku lay in her lush bed that night, she found herself unable to sleep. Her thoughts kept drifting back to the "Demon Prince". She had hundreds of questions about him now. Who had taught him music? Why was he so scared of his own voice? She'd had to try so hard to coax a song out of him.<p>

But when he'd finally overcome his stage fright…

For the first time since she'd met him, she'd felt inferior to him. Was it the technique? The form? Was she really just being incredibly shallow and admiring just the fact he had a pretty voice?

Miku thought back to how Kaito carried himself when he lost himself in his music. It seemed to her that he could surrender himself to the needs of the song, turning himself into an extension of it instead of trying to bend the song to his will. Finally, she grasped why she felt so small in the face of his ability.

'No,' she realized, 'It's not just how beautiful his voice is… it's because he knows how to let the song become a part of everyone around him.'

That quality that drew her from the scary forest path into a demon's garden.

When Miku sang, she realized she did so because she wanted admiration of others – she never thought too deeply about the words or the needs of the song, only how it could serve her. She'd never learned to block out the world around her, to become one with a melody and feel it change her.

Except… when she sang with him, she felt as though she had an inkling of how he did it. If she practiced with him regularly, she could probably improve to the point where she could approach his level of talent.

If she sang with him again…

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Miku squeezed her pillow close to her chest. Her feelings towards Kaito were becoming far too confusing to her. She'd started off scared of him, then guilty that she'd almost killed him. They'd spent the past several weeks becoming friends.

But now…

Now she began to seriously think about what kind of a life he'd led before she showed up. Did he see other humans often? Did they all react the way she had, scared of his appearance? She'd merely begged for her life and run away. What if…

Miku clutched her pillow even tighter. Her heart burned with anger at the idea of humans trying to hurt Kaito. 'How dare they treat him like some kind of dumb monster?!' she fumed, 'Kaito is a kind man, he'd never hurt any of them!'

As her anger peeked, Miku started punching her pillow.

* * *

><p>"Nobody… but NOBODY… has the right to treat Kaito like that! Oooo, and they're gonna be sorry if I see it happening!"<p>

Luka watched the snow fall around the castle. She'd not meant to attract any attention yet. But of course that disrespectful samurai had nothing better to do with his time…

Would that she could have cursed him more directly for his lack of manners towards his betters. Just depriving him of a body had only made him even more disrespectful and rude. But she could take some satisfaction from knowing he at least suffered punishment from his support of the Prince.

The Prince…

She'd yet to tell him of her generous offer. She would wait. Though she'd grown nervous as she'd noticed the healthy glow that castle seemed to be taking. Perhaps he'd finally started making progress on the curse after all.

"That impudent mortal…" she spat.

How dare she sing with _him_. She knew nothing of true beauty, nothing of how to absorb and manipulate music. Not the way he did.

Not the way _they_ did.

'Patience,' she thought to herself.

Luka was one of the great and immortal Fair Folk. She'd already waited a hundred years for him to realize his folly and give up. She could wait until the winter snow melted. By then, he'd see the light and forgo his pride.

After that? Eternity.

"Until one loves you as truly as I…" she murmured.

She clutched her hands close to her heart.

* * *

><p><em>AN:_

_Happy Wednesday, and if you're an American, hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving too! We're already at the halfway mark on this little tale. Time flies so fast…_

_The fairy stories Miku's friends told her are based on actual Scottish folk lore. Rin told Kate Crackernuts, and Meiko told the Ballad of Tam Lin. Despite all the Japanese names, I wanted to root this story more in European folklore given the origins of Beauty and the Beast are largely across that continent._

_So when I originally started writing this story, I was still a lot newer to the fandom and the GakupoxLuka fandom (aka "Lukapo") was well off my radar. In the time since I finished it, I fell in love with that ship. Unfortunately, the plot as I wrote it is pretty much impossible to suddenly drag that ship out of nowhere. "Hey, Luka, I know you turned my Master into a monster and me into a ghost and ditched us for a hundred years but you wanna maybe make out?" So I'm just going to quash those Lukapo hopes now before someone expects a last minute hook up. Maybe you'll get some Lukapo next fanfic =D_

_Before anyone asks, Luka's eyes are intentionally a different color._

_Song Credits: Kaito sings "A Thousand Year Solo" in the garden. Later Miku coaxed Kaito to sing "Footsteps of Time". He sure likes singing some real bummers, huh? And oh my, Rolling Girl showed up again. It's almost like I really wanted to include a fast-paced song with a heavy piano in it that also had a prominent duet cover with Miku and Kaito. And wouldn't you know it, Sega announced the Miku version of this as upcoming DLC for Project Diva F 2nd. That was awfully nice of them to read my fanfic and make DLC just for me ;)  
><em>


	6. Chapter 6: The Dancing Samurai

**Chapter 6: The Dancing Samurai**

"_You claim to be a what now?"_

_The blonde queen regarded the purple haired foreigner kneeling before her throne with amusement. "A dancing samurai?"_

_The blue-haired prince regarded him with wide-eyed wonder. "I must see a demonstration!" he said, excitement in his voice._

"_Now, now, Prince… I've given you plenty of tutors to spend on this frivolity. At your age, you need to be studying battle. This man is a noble swordsman, you should be trying to learn more of war from him."_

_The youth seemed unswayed by his mother's scolding. "If it's not too much trouble, sir."_

_The samurai rose to his feet. He held his blade as though it were an instrument. "If it will make the prince happy," he said with a coy smile, "I believe one can learn as much of battle from methods of the spirit as well as methods of the body. My trusted companion, Miburi, shall aid me."_

_The prince sat spellbound as the samurai began to perform a melody in a surprisingly rich and enchanting voice._

'_In the light drizzle, the old autumn town, the northern light, from the big window, I can see the sea. I am alone!'_

_But more importantly, the samurai seemed capable of channeling the music through his entire body. As he sang, he began to perform elaborate sword routines. As he danced with his sword, light as the air around him, the Prince realized that the samurai had transformed "frivolity" into a weapon of its own – by surrendering himself to the song, he'd become capable of ignoring anything that could distract him from the battle field._

'_I am now spreading wings that belong to no one, if you love me, then goodbye, burn me in your heart, and forget me…'_

_Everyone in the throne room gave him a wide berth, wondering if he'd ever slip up as he stayed so devoted to his delicate act of song, dance, and swords. Yet so polished was he that it became difficult to tell the difference between pure combat and dance… one could only imagine how terrifying it would be to fight a warrior so unconcerned with the threat you posed that he made the act of cutting you down into a performance._

_The samurai completed his song of swords. In spite of the incredible physical feat he'd performed for the Prince, he seemed barely winded._

_The Prince stood up and knelt before him. "Wait! You're the prince! You shouldn't…!"_

"_O Samurai…" he said softly, "if you'll have me, I'll become your student…"_

_The samurai laughed loudly. "Now, now, I thought I was supposed to be guarding you!"_

"_Then we can aid each other," the Prince said, "I shall be your pupil, and in exchange, you shall guard my family."_

_And so it was that the "Dancing Samurai" became both the humble servant and strict teacher of the Prince…_

* * *

><p>"Hmph, Dancing Samurai," Gakupo said to himself, "Haven't done that in some time."<p>

Ever since he'd become a ghost, he'd lost the ability to sleep. He supposed as long as he had a body that couldn't really tire out, he had no need for it. But the long endless waking hours wore on him over the years. The release of sleep, to lose oneself in the perspectives of dreams… both things he'd taken for granted in the past.

He'd instead learned to rely trying to mentally throw himself into other places. Sometimes he'd ruminate on past battles or experiences. Other times he'd distract himself with long remembered stories.

But ever since the curse fell, his songs had fallen silent. For all the trouble he gave Kaito for having given up on music, at least Kaito had occasionally delved into it from time to time instead of cutting himself off entirely. He thought to himself why.

In reality, it just seemed as though the sources he drew his inspiration from no longer existed to him in this state. Song derived from the spirit. Right now, Gakupo began to question whether he truly possessed one anymore. For all of Kaito's miseries heaped upon him, he could at least still exist in the world.

Gakupo watched Miku sleeping. Ever since he'd started his nightly vigils, he'd discovered she'd grown more and more uneasy. She talked to herself often – usually about her confused feelings for Kaito. He'd tried not to listen in as much as he could – he'd promised his lord that he would respect Miku's privacy, and she had no way of knowing someone could hear her. He had noticed that she'd entirely stopped calling him "The Demon Prince," even out of earshot of him. Now it was always "Kaito."

He hoped that meant the end to sleepless nights was approaching.

* * *

><p>"Kaito, have you been cleaning up without me?"<p>

Kaito looked at Miku in confusion over his breakfast. "No… I swear, I haven't done anything like that."

Miku stirred her spoon in her porridge as she eyed her host with suspicion. "It's just that everything seems so much… nicer somehow."

She gazed around the kitchens, which once appeared dank and moldy but now seemed nearly spotless. "I mean, I've been doing everything I can, but I'm not *this* good!" she protested, "Look, it's okay if you're helping out but…"

Miku noticed Kaito seemed a lot more nervous all of a sudden. 'A-ha!' she thought, 'Caught him!'

"The… the spirits!" he suddenly blurted out.

Miku smiled slyly. "Like those spirits that tied up my horse when you were sick?" she asked.

Kaito nodded quickly. "I've been doing such a loyal job tending to the garden that… they're helping restore the castle in exchange!"

In the months before she came to Kaito's home, Miku would have been a lot more terrified of any kind of "spirits" in this place. But by now, she'd begun to get used to the ways that magic appeared to work that she was more willing to accept his answer. If there really were any "spirits" in the castle, clearly they didn't intend to harm her.

Well, that and the only time of day Kaito could have cleaned up the castle without her knowing would have been after she'd gone to bed.

Over the last few weeks, the two had become nearly inseparable. As Kaito tended the gardens, Miku would follow him around – not helping, as she knew to leave him that task, but just to listen to him singing as he completed his work. Sometimes they'd make small talk when he needed a break.

While she ran around doing her various chores, the two would share long conversations, mostly about what Miku's life was like in Melodia. She'd learned that Kaito had rarely, if never set foot outside of his castle and he delighted in hearing about the sort of trivial details Miku took for granted about her every day life.

In the afternoons, Kaito had become an indispensable piece of her music training. Sometimes Miku would perform solos as he gave her advice on how to improve her forms. Sometimes they'd perform duets together so she could get in more practice with a partner. Sometimes Kaito would sing entirely on his own and Miku would listen, spellbound.

And after the evening meal, they'd share more stories together – sometimes Kaito would liven things up by relating a story about the "Fair Folk". Sometimes Miku would tell some of the stories Len used to make up (though she'd carefully omit any of his "Demon Prince tales"). Truly, the pair rarely separated during their waking hours.

Some nights Kaito would tell her stories about a man from a faraway country, a "samurai." From how reverently he spoke of this person, Miku gathered that Kaito admired him deeply. Though possibly because the samurai was both a warrior and a master of music.

* * *

><p>"So I'm 'The Dancing Samurai' again?" Gakupo asked his Lord with annoyance.<p>

Kaito remained entirely focused on carefully inserting the glass shard into the mirror casing. The slightest mistake and he could crack the glass, rendering the object and enchantments useless.

"You shouldn't be so upset," the Prince replied, "She loves hearing about you. She really loved the one about you fighting the dragon king…"

"I wish you'd ask first, is all…" the samurai grumbled.

Miku was changing her clothes, hence why Gakupo had the time to converse with his Master. Finding a time to speak to him was becoming more and more difficult – now that he'd begun to spend most of his time with Miku, Gakupo by necessity couldn't interrupt them. But it also meant he'd been forced to manage a great deal more unwanted free time. At least Kaito permitted him to stay close during their story-telling sessions. While the samurai yearned to tell a tale of his own, at least being able to listen as Miku and Kaito swapped their own tales gave him something to focus on.

He couldn't get too upset about getting left out of his Master's life – Miku sticking to him like glue only meant their freedom was getting that much closer. To the point where he began to wonder what would happen when the curse finally broke. Would he simply wake up one morning and have breath in his lungs and a chill winter's wind to his back? Would Miku kiss Kaito only for him to instantly become a human as she released him? He smirked at the idea of the easily startled girl watching her lover change so suddenly while Kaito hastily tried to explain the truth to her...

"I wonder why the curse is breaking so slowly?" Kaito mused. "Miku was right – the castle is starting to feel more and more alive each day… and yet…"

Gakupo glanced up and noticed his Master staring forlornly at his reflection in the mirror. Neither of the two remained fond of mirrors as a whole – for both men, they simply reminded them of what they'd lost. Kaito at one time admitted he feared becoming so accustomed to his current appearance that he'd forget his true face. Yet here he was, so obsessed with doing right by Miku that he found himself staring into one for hours on end every night for weeks.

But now wasn't the time to let him focus on such miseries – their time with Miku grew shorter the closer he got to fixing the mirror, and they'd still not broken his curse. "I'd focus less on what hasn't c hanged and more on keeping up what you're doing that _is_ changing things."

Kaito nodded, understanding the samurai's advice. The Prince could get easily lost in the hopelessness of his situation if he allowed his mind to wander. Gakupo understood of course – the sheer amount of time they'd spent without even the slightest opportunity to break the curse wore on both of them. And that was just counting the times that Kaito's appearance simply frightened people into running away.

Gakupo still remembered what happened the night that mirror got broken in the first place…

* * *

><p><em>Once upon a time there was a Prince who lived alone with only a samurai to keep him company. Because of his repulsive appearance, the world feared him and he stayed in his castle. But the Prince possessed a magic mirror that allowed him to look at the world he could not be a part of and every day he gazed into it and wished he could walk amongst the humans, just once.<em>

_One day, without telling the samurai, the Prince used the mirror's power to sneak into the city in disguise. Nobody was the wiser of him, and he enjoyed himself for hours._

_When he stole home, his friend asked him where he had gone, but the Prince did not answer. The samurai accepted his silence, but warned him to be careful._

_The Prince so loved his journey into the city that he did it a second time. Again, nobody recognized him in his disguise and he enjoyed himself for hours. The samurai again asked him where he had gone, but the Prince would not say. Again, the samurai warned him to be careful._

_The Prince travelled to the city a third time, but this time he grew careless, his disguise slipped, and they discovered his true identity. The people feared him so that they chased him and trapped him in a net, intending to end his life. Though the Prince struggled, he could not escape and he prepared to die._

_Suddenly, in a flash of steel, the cords of the net slashed apart. For before the Prince stood the samurai, who declared to all around him that he would cut down any man who intended his Master harm._

_So frightened were the humans of the samurai's fury that they fled for their lives. The Prince expected the samurai to chastise him for his foolishness, but instead the samurai offered him his hand, asked if he was harmed, and expressed gratitude to the spirits that the Prince was safe._

_Though in the scuffle the mirror had shattered, preventing the Prince from ever glancing upon the outside again, he remained grateful that even as he lived out his life, he was not alone. Because of his friend, the samurai._

* * *

><p>As Kaito finished his story for the night, Miku felt like she was about to burst into tears. "That's so beautiful!" she said, "Even when the Prince ignored him, the samurai was still his friend!"<p>

She clutched a couch cushion close to her. "But it's horrible how all those people treated him! The Prince just wanted to be their friend!"

Miku began punching the cushion as her mood shifted from tears to anger. "Oooh! They're lucky the samurai didn't just cut them all up right there!"

She heard Kaito chuckling at her, blushed, and ceased her assault on the hapless cushion. "He probably didn't hurt them because it would have made the Prince sad," Kaito mused, "Remember, his dream was to live _with_ humans. He wouldn't have wanted to see them hurt because of him."

* * *

><p>"…though you did leave out the part where I cut the mob leader's clothes off when I remembered he couldn't hear me or see me…"<p>

Gakupo slashed his sword through the air as if to demonstrate the clean cut. "And then they all ran away because they thought the 'Demon Prince' could cut them up with magic! Ha! Cowards!"

Kaito chuckled to himself. "I might have taken some liberties with the story," he joked, "I didn't think Miku would have found it quite as impressive if the Dancing Samurai just stripped his victims instead of taking their heads off…"

The Demon Prince, telling jokes. 'He has no idea how much he's changed…' Gakupo mused, 'The Miku girl really has a way with him. Every day he sounds more like how he did back then…'

Kaito tapped at a piece of the mirror's frame with a small chasing hammer.

"So how much longer do you think it will be until you have that mirror repaired?" Gakupo asked his Master.

Kaito examined the frame. The glass was holding together for now. "Once I have all the fragments together…" he murmured, "It's just a matter of replacing the enchantment. That _should_ repair the rest of the damage. I'll have to test it, of course."

"I'd suggest not apparating that far," Gakupo said with a smirk, "It wouldn't do to get stranded in Arlisia _again_. I can't run that fast."

"I was just planning on going to the garden and back," Kaito responded, "That should be more than enough to know if it can survive a trip to Melodia."

So he really was serious about Miku going home. While it somewhat annoyed Gakupo that Kaito was willing to send their best chance at escaping the curse home before she'd actually broken it for them, he knew by now that Kaito was too honorable to make any other choice.

'That sense of honor is going to do us both in some day,' the samurai mused to himself, 'Yet, it speaks more to his character that he still has such strong principles, even after everything he's been through.'

He thought back to that horrible day, of seeing his Lord wrapped in the net, surrounded by humans wielding torches and preparing to set him ablaze to be sure he died. Kaito had concealed part of the truth from Miku – the Prince wasn't at all helpless, not with his strength and speed. But he'd refused to defend himself – had he wished to fight back, mere ropes would not have contained the power he possessed. A few good swipes of his claws and he could have filleted his tormentors.

But Kaito cared more about the safety of the people trying to burn him alive than he did for his own life. He'd tried to reason with people that despised him. Had Gakupo not located him in time, he might have even given his life.

If the Prince could show that level of concern for people trying to kill him, it was no large feat for him to do so for a girl he'd fallen for.

* * *

><p>"As the red haired girl entered the circus tent, she spied all sorts of horrible monstrosities! She clutched her corkscrew pigtails tight with fear but she found herself too entranced to leave!"<p>

Miku's voice gained an ethereal quality as she held the candlestick close to her face.

"In the first cage…she saw the Deformed Diva, who could no longer sing because her skin melted from the acid on her face!"

The look on Kaito's horrified face only made Miku want to press further.

"Then, there were the twins…stitched together into one hideous monstrosity! 'Oh won't you stay with me!' the girl would say! 'Please, please kill me!' the boy would beg!"

Miku had changed her voice to match the parts of each twin. 'This is too fun!' she thought to herself. She saw Kaito gripping the arms of the couch he sat upon to steady himself.

"But in the last cage…she saw… a boy in a blue coat, hunched over and with his back to her. And when she got closer to his cage…he turned to face her and… and…!"

The anticipation was killing her. "She saw a HUMAN HAND in his mouth! So she ran screaming out of the circus tent! Only it was too late…"

Kaito swallowed. "What happened to her next?"

Miku's voice became almost whisper quiet. "She bumped into the ringmaster… and he said… he said…"

"What did he say?" Kaito said, a trembling in his voice.

"…It's time to feed the monster! And YOU are the main COURSE!"

Miku shouted the last line out and started laughing wickedly as she finished her story.

Kaito let out a small yelp – certainly nothing as dramatic as Miku and her friends did when Len tried telling this story, but even getting any kind of reaction out of him was more than enough reward. Miku burst into laughter as Kaito calmed himself back down. "The look… on your face!" she said between giggles, "Now I know why Len tells these stories!"

The unnerved Prince let out a small sigh. "Your friend Len sounds like a real character," Kaito said, letting Miku get her giggles out of her system. In spite of his fright, he had a small smirk on his face.

As the pig-tailed storyteller finally calmed herself, Kaito grew a little more serious. "Miku," he asked, "It sounds like this Len person liked telling stories about monsters…"

Miku laid back on the couch with a smile. "Yea, those are usually his favorites," she said, "I think he just likes knowing he can scares us girls with them though. He's usually a lot more reserved unless he's in the middle a story…"

Kaito looked away from Miku, leaning on the arm of his couch. "…did he tell stories about 'The Demon Prince?'"

"Uh… uh…" Miku stammered, "You… probably don't want to know about those…"

"…was I really that frightening to you?"

She bit her lip, trying to figure out what she needed to say. Where had this come from, so suddenly? What had made him so upset now?

"W…well…."

Seeing Kaito sad began to tear at Miku's heart again. The idea of her making him feel this way made it ache with sympathy. The way he told his samurai stories, it seemed that he envied the prince that always accompanied him.

'It's because the Prince had a friend…' Miku thought to herself, 'Who does Kaito have?'

"Back then… the first day I saw you… yes, you were."

Miku took a deep breath. "Because… all I knew was, this Demon Prince that everyone told me about was actually real. The stories said you were a wicked man that became a demon, and now you kidnapped and ate girls trying to break some curse."

She let out an annoyed sigh. "Len always changed them up though, so it's not like I ever knew what was really true…" she said, "I mean, you definitely don't have two heads and breathe fire. Frankly, if he actually met you, he'd probably be disappointed."

"…I guess that explains why you thought I was going to kill you."

Miku pounded the arm of her own couch with her fist. "But I'm not scared of you now!" she protested, "All this time I've spent with you, I've come to learn… you're the kindest, gentlest soul I've ever met! You wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone a pretty girl in a flower bed, and you definitely wouldn't cook and eat a person!"

She bowed her head. "I… I was wrong to think so poorly of you," she said, "And… I'm honored… that you treat me as a friend. Even after all that I put you through."

A few moments of silence fell between them, Miku afraid she'd only made things worse, Kaito seeming to try and think through everything she said. Finally, he looked toward her with a faraway expression in his eyes and a big smile. "Would you like to hear my favorite story?"

Miku nodded. 'Sounds like he's feeling better already…' she thought to herself.

Kaito put his legs up on the couch, laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling as he began his tale.

* * *

><p><em>Once upon a time, there was a Prince who lived an idyllic life where everyone catered to him and encouraged him. Surrounded by their words, he felt truly loved every day, as though he had thousands of friends. At his side, his closest ally, was a samurai from a faraway land who served as his most trusted knight.<em>

_But one day, the Prince committed a grave mistake. As punishment, he was cursed by a fairy to become a monster whom no soul could love. _

_The Prince fled into his castle, begging for help from the people he thought loved him. But every one of them ran in terror when they saw him. "Monster! Demon!" they'd scream as he sought even one kind soul._

_As he was left alone, the Prince collapsed and cried, for he believed that he had become something unworthy of love and he would have to suffer his fate alone._

_The samurai searched every inch of the castle to find his lord, believing that a monster had attacked and killed him. Eventually, he discovered his Master and called out to him. At first, the Prince refused to even face him, for he knew that as soon as the samurai looked upon his ugliness, he too would abandon him – or worse, kill him. But as the samurai refused to be ignored, the Prince finally showed his true face, waiting to see what the samurai would do._

_At first, the samurai recoiled in horror upon seeing the Prince's monstrous face, and the Prince began to run away, afraid of being killed by someone he thought was a friend. But the samurai called out to him, making the Prince hesitate._

_The samurai offered his hand in friendship, declaring that as his loyal swordsman, they would meet any challenge together. The samurai swore that regardless of what happened to his Master, he would stay true to him through the end. The Prince, grateful to finally meet one person who did not run away in fear, chose to stay with him._

_Even though by accepting his friendship, the samurai became cursed as well, he stayed true and loyal to his word. And so now, to this day, the Prince is never truly alone… for he learned that he had one true friend._

* * *

><p>Miku had tears in her eyes. "So…what happens to the Prince in the end?" she asked softly.<p>

"What do you mean?" Kaito asked, still not meeting Miku's gaze.

"Did he ever break the curse?" Miku pleaded.

Kaito seemed to avoid the question. "The point of the story is that the samurai never abandoned the Prince," he explained, "What happened to them afterwards isn't important… it's a story about friendship and loyalty."

A small, sad smile crept up on his face. "But I'm sure the Prince was grateful to have him at his side. That's why it's my favorite story."

Miku wasn't sure what Kaito meant in telling a story like this. Was he somehow talking about himself? Was the samurai he admired so a real person? Or did Kaito simply _wish_ the samurai were real?

Miku walked over to the couch where Kaito sat, his hand resting on the arm, knelt down, and placed her own hand over his. Kaito looked up at her in surprise at the sudden close contact. "The Prince should know…" Miku said softly, "That he has another friend too."

As her eyes locked with his, she read a storm of emotions. Loneliness. Gratitude. Fear. Joy. However long Kaito had been in this castle alone, she finally realized how heavy the burden he carried for himself had become. He smiled softly at her. "The Prince would be happy to hear that."

As Miku lay in her bed that night, she found herself unable to sleep as all she could think about was Kaito's stories. How many of them had secretly been peppered with details about his true self? She still didn't know if he really had been cursed or if thinking of himself as "being cursed" made him better able to handle the truth about himself.

In that moment, when she'd grasped his hand and reassured him of their friendship, she'd wanted to ask him so much more. But something about the look in his eyes… she'd held back her questions yet again. Somehow, Miku always found a reason not to ask him about the truth. In their early days, she was afraid of angering the fearful "Demon Prince." Then it became a fear of learning some secret that would make her truly afraid of him and ruin their burgeoning friendship. But now?

She was afraid of hurting him.

The other common theme in his "samurai" tales was not just the samurai, but how much the Prince relied upon his friendship. Somehow, in every story, the Prince found himself isolated and reviled. He kept reaching out to others, only to have a single person left to turn to. While Kaito appeared to draw some comfort from the loyalty of the samurai to the Prince, Miku thought back to that day in the summer garden all over again. Had he not tried to speak to her then? How long had it been since he'd seen another person? When he tried to reach out to her, she rejected him – just like the Prince in the stories faced that rejection over and over again.

Perhaps Kaito began telling her these stories to try and tell her about himself without risking his own feelings. Miku couldn't reject him if he used fairy tales as a cover for his own past. But they conflicted with each other so much it wasn't easy for her to figure out how much he was telling of the truth. Even so, she had to draw some comfort from the fact that he now trusted her enough to start sharing these tiny grains of truth wrapped in literary lies.

With all of these thoughts in her head about Kaito, Miku began to fear what would happen to him when she left for home at the end of the winter. She would return to her home with her father, she'd take up her post as a courier, and she'd have her dearest friends to talk to and share stories and songs with. She'd learned to be a more capable person, to care for herself and others – and wouldn't her father be surprised the first time she split a log? She'd trained relentlessly from a fantastic teacher – surely once she could settle her business in Melodia, she could finally take her grand trip to Arlisia, to enter the theater for real, and find a way to audition for and join a performance troupe. Her dream lay in front of her – no longer a child's intangible imaginings, but a solid goal.

Kaito would go back to being a lonely monster, with no soul to keep him company. None would hear his beautiful songs. He'd tend that beautiful garden that no eyes but his would ever see. All that awaited him if he left the castle was more rejection, and maybe even people trying to kill him.

As much as she'd feared him at first, she came to cherish the time they'd spent together over her winter trip. She used to quail at the sight of his fangs, but now… now she truly loved to see Kaito smile. Slowly, his smiles became so much more natural than the time she had to essentially force one out of him. As the weeks passed, he became far less shy with his feelings in general – let alone how much he opened up when they wrapped themselves in hours of music.

How often would he smile when he was by himself again?

Miku wiped a few tears from her face. Looking at the wetness on her hand, she couldn't believe it… was she really _crying_ for Kaito? But her heart ached whenever she thought of how Kaito would live on his own… and now she began to have doubts about whether or not she herself could go back to a life without him in it…

She clutched her hands to her chest, trying to sort out the knot of feelings bundled up inside of her. She found herself at an impasse – she couldn't truly say how she felt towards Kaito anymore. 'Is this what it feels like if I was… if I…'

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Her cheeks felt hot as that thought trailed off.

Miku rolled onto her side, staring out the window of her bedroom into the starry winter sky. 'Kaito… I wish you'd tell me the truth…' she thought to herself, 'I want to help you… no matter what really happened to you…'

The only thing to give her comfort as she finally drifted into an uneasy sleep was the reassurance that the snows would not melt overnight. She still had time.

* * *

><p>"It's finished."<p>

Kaito held the mirror in his hands, checking for even the slightest imperfection. If he'd made even the smallest error, the magic could backfire. He held it up and chanted an incantation. "Mirror, mirror, transport me to the garden."

Gakupo observed as the mirror shone with a brilliant light, enveloping his Master's body completely, before he vanished from the room entirely. He waited with anticipation until a light shone in the room again several moments later, with Kaito emerging from it mirror in hand. "So it works," the samurai observed.

Kaito lay the repaired mirror on the dresser table. "I can give it to Miku first thing tomorrow," he said solemnly.

As the gravity of his words sunk in, Kaito's shoulders slumped. He pressed a hand against his chest. Clearly, he expected Miku to leave tomorrow morning, and by now it had occurred to him what that meant.

"You _do_ realize after that story you told her tonight, she'd have to be an idiot to not start piecing together what's really happening, right?"

Kaito laid the mirror gently across his dresser table, avoiding Gakupo's gaze. "It will be fine…" he said slowly, "Besides… I just wanted… I wanted to know how she felt… about certain things."

Silence fell between the two men. Eventually, the samurai realized Kaito was lost in his thoughts again and tried to pull him back out.

"…do you love her?" Gakupo asked pointedly.

Another long silence.

"…I want Miku to be happy," the Prince answered.

"My lord… just spare a moment to think of yourself," Gakupo pressed, "Do you love her?"

Another long silence.

"…yes."

"Then I shall take to my last vigil," he stated matter-of-factly, "I shall ensure no harm comes to Miku on her final evening here."

And so the samurai left his master in silence. There would be little he could say to comfort him – saying goodbye to a lover was never easy, particularly in his case. Kaito would likely not even sleep this eve as he tried to build up the courage to cheerfully bid farewell to someone he wished would never leave him.

As Gakupo entered Miku's room, he saw the younger girl twisting and turning in her sleep. He'd done his best to try and not listen in on her private musings, but he had picked up on the fact she'd gotten rather attached to his Master. While he knew that Kaito presumed she'd never return, he'd not been party to Miku's constant obsessions over him. The samurai remained doubtful that she'd truly be gone for long.

Gakupo stared outside of her window, seeing no intruders on the grounds – not even a few rose petals or butterflies. He hoped that meant Luka would not be returning at all. The last thing Kaito needed was her to decide to make her presence known after Miku's departure. The fairy had a way with poisonous words.

Kaito's story that evening affected him deeply. He'd known that Kaito depended on his company for survival, and Gakupo never denied it. But something about the way he phrased it.

"_I'm sure the Prince was grateful to have him at his side. That's why it's my favorite story."_

Of course Kaito left a number of details out. The samurai's mind wandered back to that horrible day…

* * *

><p>"<em>Where is the prince?! Where is Kaito!?"<em>

"_Run for your life! There's a monster in the castle!"_

"_A samurai does not run from danger!"_

_Gakupo ran through the halls as he felt a dark force tearing through his body. Around him, the people in the castle began to fade into nothingness. He spied the Queen in the throne room as she collapsed to the ground. He rushed to her side, clutching her shoulders. "Your majesty!" he shouted._

_"Kaito! Please, Gakupo! Where is my son?! Where is Kaito?!"_

_But before he could answer, the woman dissolved in his hands, leaving nothing but mist behind._

_The samurai darted into the gardens. If Kaito had been with __**her**__…_

_He tore through the hedges and trellises, looking for any sign of his Master. "My Lord! Where are you?!" Gakupo shouted, still trying to ignore the gnawing pain that threatened to pull him into oblivion. Some foul magic was afoot, trying to drag him into the same mist that claimed everyone else, but his will to protect the Prince drove him to fight back._

_At the top of the garden steps, he saw her. That wretched fairy, was this her doing?!_

"_Luka!" Gakupo growled, "What have you done?! Where is Prince Kaito!?"_

_The infernal woman turned her head to face him. Though her face remained the solid mask, her eyes burned with fury. "I've rendered my judgment and found him wanting," she declared coldly. _

"_What have you done to him, you damned creature?!" Gakupo swore at her._

_She waved her arm as if to point the way to the Prince. "In light of my punishment, your prince has fled from me in cowardice. As befitting someone with so wicked a heart as he."_

_Gakupo dashed back indoors in the direction Luka indicated until he finally spotted the form of a young man in a fancy white and blue uniform. "Prince Kaito! Are you safe?!"_

_Kaito was squatting on the ground, his back to the samurai and his head hung low. "Gakupo…" he said weakly, "I've... I've doomed them all…"_

_The samurai ran to his master's side and that was the first time he saw the extent of the curse. His first reaction was horror at the monstrosity his Master had become. He couldn't suppress his initial horrified reaction at coming face to face with Kaito's transformation. As he backed away, the pain in his body became so crippling as to force him to collapse to his knees, leaning against Miburi for support._

"_Even you…" Kaito whimpered, "Even you…"_

"_Yes…even the loyal samurai has forsaken your wickedness."_

_Luka. "This curse isn't permanent. Do you truly intend to run away from it? Instead of trying to break it?"_

"_No one… no one could ever love me like this…" Kaito declared, rising to his feet, his voice shaking, "It's impossible, Luka!"_

"_Well, if you're going to give up so easily, perhaps I was even more mistaken about you than I realized."_

_Even in his state, Gakupo could hear the daggers behind her words. He clenched his teeth and gripped his hands tightly around his sword, standing up on shaking feet. This drew the attention of the fairy to him. He spied a small amount of surprise in her eyes before they faded back to her mask._

"_Why are you still here?" Luka asked, "You should be disappearing too. Just like everyone else who was complicit in creating such a wicked man."_

_Gakupo concentrated with all his might and glared at the fairy. She had wounded his master and attacked his home. To let her stand would be dishonorable. He charged straight at her, his sword scraping the floor as he wound it back for a killing blow…_

…_.only for his blade to pass through her harmlessly, along with the rest of him._

_Gakupo collapsed again. His body began to fade quickly as his failure overwhelmed him. As he observed his hands becoming transparent, he cursed that he couldn't even extract the revenge his master deserved._

"_Gakupo… I'm sorry…" Kaito whispered._

_A samurai did not give up so easily. He would have only failed his master if he vanished, he reasoned. "The… Dancing Samurai… will not be defeated so easily…" he murmured._

_With that declaration in mind, Gakupo tried to focus every thought in his mind on his bond to his Prince. Even if it meant an eternity of torment, he would not depart from him. With a mighty yell, Gakupo summoned every bit of strength back to him. When he was done, he checked himself over. The clawing pain no longer threatened him, and he was no longer fading… but he was also no longer drawing breath._

"_Fine then, stubborn idiot," Luka muttered, "I take my leave of both of you. It will be up to your prince whether you live as more than just a ghost. But know this – to all but I and the prince, you shall not be a part of this world."_

"_All a samurai needs is his spirit!" Gakupo shouted, "If you will not undo your foul magic, then leave at once!"_

_Luka turned for one last parting shot at Kaito. "I tried to give you the gift of love, dear Prince… know that it is your actions that have deprived you of it."_

_With her final words, she vanished into a wind of flower petals and butterflies. The fairy gone, Gakupo approached the cowering Prince, who looked ready to flee at any moment. "Why did you do that?" Kaito asked him, taking a few frightened steps away from him, "You took on the curse… for… for a monster… you could have used all that spirit and escaped!"_

"_I pledged my blade to you for life," the samurai replied matter-of-factly, "I care not what has happened to either of us, for you are still my Lord."_

_Kaito ceased backing away from him, lowering his head in shame. "A monster has no need for a knight…" he said in sorrow._

_Gakupo knelt before Kaito as a symbol of respect._

"_But a Prince does," the samurai continued, "And no matter what your face, you will always be a Prince. We shall work through this challenge together."_

"_No matter how long it takes."_

* * *

><p>As Gakupo stared up into the waning moon, he smirked in spite of the unpleasant memory he'd relived. "A samurai only needs his spirit…" he repeated to himself, "I suppose I must still have one of those then."<p>

* * *

><p>Kaito lay in his bed, unable to focus on anything but what he needed the strength to do tomorrow. How could he say goodbye to Miku? Would she ever want to return?<p>

'She actually touched me…' he thought, remembering her gentle hand upon his as he finished his story. He still remembered how she'd trembled when he'd held her hands and led her into the gardens. But this time, she touched him of her own accord, her body steady and her grip strong and reassuring. To Miku, he no longer appeared a monster to her… just another person.

_Do you love her?_

Gakupo's blunt question swam around his head. For so long, Kaito had obsessed over simply getting someone else to love him – the curse never mentioned his personal feelings in the matter. In his old life, he'd been expected to marry a noble with some political gain to offer, so his own feelings largely remained irrelevant. He approached the curse much the same way, hoping as long as the person he found to break it loved him, he could learn to love them back. If nothing else, he would be grateful that someone cared enough to free him from such a wretched circumstance.

But it felt so different with Miku… not just because of what she could do for him. Of course he thought she was an attractive woman. Beyond her looks, though, was her invigorating energy, her pure ambition. When he pointed out the reality of how to achieve her dream to be a "Diva", she didn't give up on it. She began serious training to achieve it. Her attitude became infectious – as nervous as he'd been to take to the piano and sing for her, now it felt perfectly natural. As if being around Miku gave him the strength to reclaim parts of himself he'd thought lost as the years dragged on.

He used to sing with others – Gakupo taught him so much of what he understood about the nature of songs, of becoming one with the melody. And Luka… she taught him much of what he'd been teaching to Miku of how to sing in perfect harmony. Sometimes they'd sing for hours together as he'd tend to the flowers. Back when they were friends…

But he hadn't fallen in love with Luka, nor Gakupo. He'd fallen in love with Miku. Something about the way his voice mingled with hers felt far more intimate in their duets…

'Maybe…I shouldn't think of this as forever… just… temporary…' he attempted to reassure himself.

He couldn't ask that of her though – how would it sound for a demon to beg the company of a human? Miku deserved better. For that matter, asking her to constantly make trips in to the forest and conceal his existence… the more he thought of the logistics, even with Miku simply using the mirror to teleport to and fro, made him feel terribly selfish even to ask for such a favor.

Then tomorrow would have to be final… whether he liked it or not. He hadn't won Miku's heart. He had failed. At least he'd learned that he could, with enough effort, convince a human to treat him as an equal again.

'Is this how it's always going to be?' he thought to himself, 'Falling so deeply in love with someone… then watching them leave? Having to start all over again, until I find the right person?' The thought of him so casually discarding Miku and trying to love another person as much as he loved her made him ill.

As his worries continued to haunt him, Kaito became aware of a sound he hadn't heard since the day he lost everything.

'_Ah, the wind, roar with me. Now, my homeland is so far away…'_

Kaito smiled softy in spite of everything. The "Dancing Samurai" had never truly fallen silent after all. While Kaito certainly never possessed Gakupo's "samurai spirit", he began to clear his head and focus only on his melody. Maybe he could borrow some of his friend's indomitable courage to grant him some measure of sleep…

'_I'm a gale. I'll shout and sing, breaking my fears and holding my blade, till the flame dies out…'_

* * *

><p>AN:

Oh that tension… and if you think this week had a foreboding cliffhanger, things are going to keep ramping up for the next few chapters. My, Luka sure can be evil, can't she?

Mirrors are a regular appearance in Beauty and the Beast, always providing the Beast with a look at the outside world he cannot be a part of. I thought it made Kaito's plight direr if he'd completely lost all outside contact, but I did reference the mirror's original purpose in Kaito's story.

It's convenient I got a comment asking for more Gakupo, right before I put out a chapter all about him and Kaito. Miku kind of stayed in the background, but I think it's pretty obvious where she stands on things by the end of the chapter. I have some more of the history of Kaito and Gakupo in my head that I like to pull from to inform how they treat each other, but most of it is irrelevant to the plot, so this chapter pretty much just covered what was needed to either pay off some earlier plot threads or set up the remainder of the storyline.

Song Credits: Gakupo frightened a bunch of stuffy nobles by performing "Butterfly", then rounded out the story with "The Gale". And obviously the chapter title is a reference to his best-known song, but I deliberately did not put the song in here because I couldn't come up with a way to get such comedic lyrics the narrative without demolishing the tone I intended to set. I figured I could justify still calling him the "Dancing Samurai" with the right sell. Speaking of songs that got referenced without being sung, Miku started telling a story based on Dark Woods Circus, where poor Teto apparently didn't make it out alive!

In case you wondering where the clothes Kaito wore in Gakupo's flashbacks came from, I figured he's wearing the white clothes he wears in some of the Cendrillon PVs. Like in this picture: zerochan . net (slash) full (slash) 59258 (yea, you're going to have to recompose that link to get around 's wacky linking policy)

Thought it'd be a nice contrast between that and the darker outfits he normally wears in this fic. It's a super subtle metaphor, you know XD


	7. Chapter 7: The Demon and the Maiden

**Chapter 7: The Demon and the Maiden**

_Miku gracefully bowed towards her adoring public as the stage was showered in red roses. One caught her eye in particular and her heart pounded, for nestled amongst the sea of red roses lay a single blue rose._

_Miku clutched the rose tightly to her chest and sped up her departure from the stage. She had to find the sender – she knew he was waiting for her! Crossing the curtain, she nearly bowled over a handsome young man in a fine silk suit, a glimmering crown upon his head and an elegant box in his hands. "Miku, you are the world's finest Diva! I present to you -"_

_As he began to lift the lid, Miku pressed it closed with one hand, interrupting his impassioned speech._

"_My apologies," she said to him politely, "But I've already given my heart to another."_

_With that, she pushed past the prince and rushed towards the backstage door, where there stood the mysterious stranger who'd attended her every show. The man who'd helped shape her into the Diva she was now. Her beloved._

_Kaito._

_She eagerly leapt into his waiting embrace. "I thought I'd never see you again…" she whispered. She looked up at the man she loved and their faces grew closer together…_

* * *

><p>Miku snapped awake. The identity of her stranger, revealed to her, yet it felt to her as if she'd always known but hadn't been able to explain it to herself. The intimacy of her dream still resonated through her body. She clutched a pillow tight to her chest, as if somehow it would give her the feeling of the person she'd dreamed of embracing. How much she had yearned for Kaito in those slumbering hours… and her heart pounded as she realized how deeply she wanted that kiss, lost to wakefulness…<p>

She was about close her eyes and steal a few more moments of sleep before she began her chores when she realized something. _She was not alone in the room_. Miku sat up in her bed and started screaming as she saw the man at the foot of her bed.

"SPIRITS HELP ME! A BANDIT!"

For before her stood a man with long purple hair, clad in strange white robes and clutching a sword to his side that he no doubt intended to use to lop off her pretty head...

"What?!" he exclaimed, wearing an expression of utter surprise.

"Stay back! Criminal scum!"

As Miku threw her pillow at him, she thought she'd hit him square in the face, but when it bounced harmlessly off the wall, she assumed she'd missed. Soon Miku was practically showering the intruder with every pillow on her bed, to the point where she couldn't even see what she was aiming at anymore…

"Miku! Miku, what's wrong?!" Kaito shouted, pushing the door open with such force it nearly flew off its hinges. Was this it?! Had Luka decided to attack now, in the morning?! Miku sounded as if someone was trying to kill her. Kaito growled as he thought of what he would do to anyone that put so much as a scratch on Miku…

Yet he himself nearly got knocked over as Gakupo made a hasty exit from the bedroom. "Gakupo, what are you – "

The samurai put a finger to his lips. Kaito ran into the room, nearly taking a pillow to the face in the process. "Miku! Calm down, it's just me!"

The pillow storm ended almost as swiftly as it began. Miku was panting in exhaustion. "Kaito, Kaito, there was a bandit in here! Right in my room!"

Kaito rushed to her side and looked at where she was pointing. Already his mind was reeling at what had just taken place. Somehow…Miku had _seen_ someone that could not be seen.

"Are you sure you didn't dream it?" he asked innocently.

"Why would I dream a purple-haired guy in my room?!" she huffed, "Surely you saw him escaping when you entered! He had his sword drawn and everything!"

"Miku…" Kaito lied, "I saw no one when I came in."

Miku seemed lost in thought. "Come to think of it… I saw someone like him in the garden a few weeks ago…"

"Wait, what?! When did that happen?!"

Miku suddenly squeaked, as if she realized she'd admitted to something she shouldn't. She moved quickly to change the subject. "Kaito!" she said, "What if it was a spirit?!"

He nodded his head – technically, he wasn't lying if he agreed with her. "Like the ones that clean the castle…" he murmured, "You might have finally seen one…"

'But this means that… Gakupo is…'

Kaito's thoughts cleared as he noticed Miku's face slowly turning scarlet. Kaito's cheeks felt hot as he realized why – she was still in her nightgown. Kaito darted back out of the room. "I'll… I'll see you at breakfast!" he called out behind him, slamming the door.

* * *

><p>Miku stirred the breakfast porridge as she tried to muse on what her dreams from the night before meant. She'd always envisioned herself snagging her rich prince… but this time in the dream, she pushed him and all his jewels away…<p>

…for Kaito.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The dilemma that kept her up so long the night before suddenly seemed a lot clearer… though how to proceed going forward remained unclear. What would her friends and family say about Kaito? She already didn't know how to explain why she'd been away so long or who she was with. Now she wanted to tell them she'd fallen for him as well? One of Kaito's stories about the Prince and the samurai nearly ended with the Prince being burned alive by frightened humans. Did someone try to do that to him? Would someone she knew try to do the same to him if she tried to bring him home with her?

Miku started stirring more quickly as her blood boiled imagining Kaito struggling and pleading for his life. By now she knew he wouldn't fight back – he was far too peaceful. Though now she wondered, if that story about the Prince truly was a story about Kaito, how did he escape if he refused to hurt anyone?

Miku thought about the man she was certain she'd seen in the bedroom. Now that she could think more deeply on it, his description matched what Kaito had claimed the "Dancing Samurai" to look like. But why in the world would the Dancing Samurai be in her bedroom!?

"Maybe the Dancing Samurai was some good spirit Kaito knew…" she said out loud, "And he started telling those stories about him for fun…"

Satisfied with her answer, Miku's thoughts drifted back to Kaito again. Her heart began to knot up again as the previous night's story and her confused feelings came back to her. Everything seemed so much simpler in her dream where nothing stood between them…

"Miku…"

She thought she could imagine him speaking to her right now.

"Miku?"

"ACK!"

Miku nearly dropped the stirring spoon when she realized Kaito _was_ speaking to her, from the kitchen door. "Ah ha ha ha," she laughed, trying to play off her reaction, "I'm sorry, I was just distracted and… and…"

Kaito had a terribly serious look on his face. Miku lay the spoon on the table and approached him. "Kaito… is something wrong?"

She recognized the sadness in his eyes and wondered what had happened to him so early in the day. "Miku… I just wanted to tell you that… I was happy to have you here," he said, slowly.

"Ummmm…. What are you talking about?" Miku asked, "The snows haven't melted yet, so I can't go home yet – nobody can get up there to fix the bridge."

Kaito swallowed deeply. "What if… there was a way to leave without that being a concern?"

Miku's heart raced. What was he talking about? Kaito reached into his jacket and pulled out a beautiful gold trimmed hand mirror. Just the sight of it made Miku light up like a lantern. "Kaito, what a beautiful gift! Well of course I accept!"

Miku started to play around with her hair in her reflection, but she stopped when she noticed Kaito did not appear happy. "Umm… what's wrong?"

"Miku… that mirror… will send you home."

It took a few moments for those words to sink in for her. "This is a _magic_ mirror?! Where did you… how did you…!?"

"I've been trying to repair it almost since you arrived," he explained, "So you could leave whenever you wished to."

Miku felt a lump in her throat. 'I can go home… I can see my father, I can tell him I'm safe! I can see all my friends again… Rin, Len, Meiko, they must be worried sick… I can go back to my old life…'

Kaito turned away from her. "You need only to command it to take you to your home and… you'll be there."

She clutched the precious mirror close to her chest. "You really want me gone so badly?"

Kaito whirled around in shock. "No!" he protested, "I swear, I… you've been a delight!"

He looked away from her again. "But… surely you'd rather return to your family than spend your precious time here…"

Miku tried to swallow. A monumental decision lay before her, and while the most logical answer seemed obvious, she found herself refusing to take it. She couldn't very well just abandon her loved ones to play around in an enchanted castle for a few more weeks… yet when she thought of leaving behind Kaito…

Thump. Thump. Thump.

A compromise, then.

"Kaito…" she said softly, still clutching the mirror tightly, "What if I didn't leave right away? It would seem silly for me to just vanish when I haven't even finished cooking this breakfast."

Kaito turned to face her. "What are you proposing?"

The idea she'd cooked up made her heart sing. "I'll leave tomorrow morning," she said, "Because tonight… we should have a party!"

Her face lit up. "Just you and me! We can cook a nice dinner, sing songs… maybe even dance! After all, the spirits fixed up the ballroom, we should use it!'

She pressed one hand to her cheek. "And there's so many lovely ball gowns in my room…" she swooned aloud, "I surely can't leave without finding an excuse to wear one."

* * *

><p>"Doesn't that sound lovely?!"<p>

Kaito couldn't believe his ears. Miku wanted to spend another day with him? She wanted to celebrate… with _him?_

"Unless you'd rather I just leave…" she said, looking embarrassed, "I mean, surely I've overstayed and…"

"NO!" Kaito blurted out rather quickly.

Miku looked surprised at his emotional outburst. He tried to recover. "I mean… the party… it sounds like a good idea…" he said, rubbing the back of his head.

Miku rushed up and gave him an excited hug. "Oh Kaito, thank you so much!" she exclaimed with delight, "I promise, it's going to be an evening to remember!"

Kaito wandered out of the kitchen in shock, leaving Miku humming over the porridge. He'd prepared himself all night for a final goodbye first thing in the morning… now Miku wanted an entire day of goodbyes. He swallowed. Could he hold himself back that long?

The hug had surprised him – she'd likely thought nothing of it. Just a gesture of gratitude. But feeling her warmth… her touch… he felt selfish, but he wanted more of it. Even after his resolution to keep his feelings to himself and let her return to the life she deserved…

'….Unless she felt the same way… but…'

Kaito looked at his hands, the same monstrous claws he'd had every day for the last century. 'If she did…' he reminded himself, 'I wouldn't look like this anymore…'

"Is she staying?"

Gakupo was leaning against a wall in the hallway. Given the lower volume of his voice, he seemed to still be aware of the encounter he'd had with Miku earlier in the morning.

"Just for the night…" Kaito said, "She wants to throw a party as a farewell…"

"Hmmm…I'd recommend that black suit you wore to the last masquerade… you know the one. When you played the violin?"

"…you're not even the slightest bit concerned that Miku saw you this morning?"

Gakupo laughed, though much quieter than normal. If the incident in Miku's room had worried him, the samurai certainly wasn't acting like it beyond moderating his voice. "I'll admit that gave me a bit of a shock!" he said, "I was lost thinking on a great battle I participated in back home and then all of a sudden there was a pillow flying through my head!"

"What do you think it means?" Kaito asked, "Is it possible we've almost…" He didn't dare finish the sentence. It seemed too much to hope for.

"Hard to say. Then again… this castle is more alive than ever. The only thing missing are the people that lived within its walls. And this isn't even the first time she's actually seen me… I'm starting to think that last thing left that hasn't started to go back to normal…"

"…is me," Kaito finished.

After a few moments of silence, the samurai lulled Kaito back out of his thoughts. "My Lord, I recall last night that you told me you loved her."

Kaito tried to suppress all the emotions that rushed into his heart at those words. "Then perhaps you should tell her that. Tonight."

For any normal person, trying to confess such a monumental emotion for the first time should be difficult – but Kaito was not a normal person. A rejection held far more devastating consequences for him. Nonetheless, Kaito had been the one hoping Miku could break his curse and trying to win her heart. Nothing would change if he couldn't work up the courage to take that last great leap of faith.

"… Miku deserves more than a monster," Kaito said softly, "She deserves her Prince."

"You _are_ a Prince," Gakupo reminded him, "no matter what happened to you. And try not to forget that if the Miku girl feels the same way, you will go back to _being_ a Prince to everyone else."

The wisdom of the samurai's advice was not lost on Kaito. 'If I told her…' he thought to himself, '….maybe it would make a difference.'

He was so close to a freedom he had once deemed impossible. And perhaps… perhaps Miku did share some feelings for him. It had been _her_ idea to stay, and make it memorable. Maybe not enough yet to break the curse, but so preciously close… he could not deny the very obvious signs around his home and even in his friend who suffered from the same curse.

Then he would need to do his part to make everything perfect – this would be his last chance. So many people depended on him. "…I had better make an extra trip to the rose garden to prepare."

* * *

><p>Miku tore through the ball gowns, somehow finding fault in each one. "No…this one doesn't match my eyes!"<p>

"Ugh, this one isn't going to fit my hips!"

"Oh my! That one shows a little too much of my… ah, not this one!"

A cluttered mess of rejected ball gowns covered the top of Miku's bed. Letting out a loud sigh, she flopped down onto one of the few free spots in frustration. "Why is this so HARD?!" she grumbled, "I'm just dressing up! That's always been easy! Why can't I just settle on one dress and be done with it?!"

She rolled over onto her stomach and stared outside the open window, where the sun was setting. "We're supposed to get together after sundown… I've got to be ready and… and…"

She thought back to the dream, of the feeling of embracing Kaito and the strength of his powerful arms gripping her securely. He'd let her hug him in the morning, but it wasn't the same kind of intimacy. Not like that… not the way he held her in her dream, and certainly not the way she'd gotten so close to kissing him…

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"…it's because I've never dressed up to impress someone before…" she murmured.

This would be the last time she'd see Kaito this winter. She wanted a memorable evening with him to burn the joy of her winter in his company into her memory forever. And… she dared not admit to herself what else she wanted lest the torrent of emotions upset her again. She'd never even kissed another person outside of childish pecks on the cheek for her father or departed mother. She'd never dated – it felt as though no man or woman in Melodia met her standards. Maybe her standards were just too high. Maybe she'd become so blinded by the idea of her "Prince" carrying her off that she'd not even bothered. Yet now Kaito, the Demon Prince, somehow found a way into that little fantasy of hers.

Miku slipped back off the bed, taking one last glance through the dresses hoping one would just jump out at her on this last precious night together with Kaito. Before she closed the wardrobe again, she finally saw it – a gorgeous, snow white ball gown with long, puffy sleeves. Not exactly like the one in her dream…but close enough. As if fate planned for it. She pulled it out from its hanger and examined it closely. "This…this might work…"

As Miku began to unlace the gown, she saw something flutter to the floor. Holding the gown carefully so as not to ruffle it, she knelt down and picked up a white eye mask shaped like butterfly wings. She pressed it up against her face and found it fit reasonably well. "A masquerade…" she breathed whimsically.

* * *

><p>Kaito took a few moments to prep himself mentally now that he was properly dressed. He'd found the outfit Gakupo suggested, a black suit with a long flowing black coat, trimmed with blue – as well as the blue and black eye mask.<p>

Carefully he slipped the mask onto his face. He wanted Miku to have the best possible impression of him. Of course he couldn't conceal everything – he no longer fit any of the gloves he owned, and he didn't own a hat he could successfully cover his horns with. But at least as wore the mask, he felt as though he could pretend his face looked normal underneath it. As the final touch, he took the rose that Miku had given him those many weeks ago and tucked it onto his lapel. 'For good luck,' he thought to himself. More than ever, he needed to muster as much courage as possible for what he intended to say to her.

"Are you going to come along?" Kaito asked his friend.

"Unfortunately not," Gakupo stated, "I'll make sure to keep the ballroom guarded, but we can't take a chance on her seeing me again."

He laughed. "Besides, this is your night! I'll take care of myself when we finally break this curse."

So he'd have Miku entirely to himself. It was up to him to make the most of the evening. To find the right words to express how he felt. To find the words that would shatter his enslavement and finally allow him to become her Prince.

* * *

><p>"Oh my goodness! It's so beautiful!" Miku shouted with glee.<p>

Where the ballroom had once been bare and empty save for the piano, Kaito had decorated with dozens upon dozens of roses from the garden. As Miku entered, she spun around on her toes to take in the lovely sight – Kaito must have spent hours getting them hung as high as the ceiling and the now-lit chandelier. A lit candelabra sat on their piano.

In the dim light, the room looked magical – all the debris clear from the floor, the paint repaired, the stained glass windows untouched. To Miku, it was as though the spirits themselves had prepared the room for her final night with Kaito. Her fantasy of a fancy party in this very ballroom actually came true… though instead of many guests, this would be a ball for just two.

"Miku… you… you look gorgeous…"

Upon hearing her name, she turned to face her partner for the evening. She blushed as she saw him, all cleaned up in his fanciest clothes. 'He looks so handsome…' she thought to herself.

As she observed his face, she couldn't help but remark on a certain accessory. "You wore the mask too!" Miku said in awe.

Kaito touched the mask as though he'd forgotten about it. "Why…yes. And I'm…um, glad you found yours as well."

Miku giggled – Kaito was cute when he was nervous. She curtsied politely to him. "And my, my, Kaito, you look so dapper tonight!" she said as her eyes fell on the blue rose he'd chosen for the evening. 'He remembered!' she thought to herself.

She held out her hand for him and he took it gently. She felt her heart skip a beat from the contact with him.

"_Your profile dreaming peacefully…"_

Kaito and Miku serenaded each other at the piano. Where once they sang as strangers, just trying to discover the range of their own voices, tonight they sang as one. Miku knew every technique her more experienced partner would express, and she allowed the music, the feeling of being one with the song and one with him, to take over her body. Throughout the evening, Miku could still hear their song in her mind…

"_Without even realizing these tears falling on my cheek…"_

Kaito felt Miku's presence in the harmony they expressed through their song. He felt her spirit flowing through him as they sang their ballad in perfect sync. He tried to cherish that feeling as long as he could. The song itself was a tale of loving someone so deeply that even when that person couldn't be seen, their memory kept them alive in the heart. But tonight… tonight Kaito needed to find some way to make Miku more than just a lovely memory.

"_I'm trying to hide the heartbeats of my sorrow…"_

Miku felt a sense of utter freedom as she and Kaito swept across the dance floor together. She had never set foot in a real ballroom, knew nothing of dance, but in her partner's arms, she felt as talented as a seasoned dancer. Even as he dipped her on the floor, she knew that in his strong hands he would never let her fall.

"_I think it would be wonderful if I could spend another morning with you…"_

The feeling of Miku in his arms filled him with joy. Much as in their duet, she came to trust him completely. A girl who once feared him so she risked her life rather than speak to him, now his lovely, perfect dance partner. In his old life, he'd of course danced with daughters and sons of nobles, but always informally. With Miku, she had surrendered herself to him entirely.

The words stayed at the tip of his tongue, but every moment he felt the chance to confess, he held back. He just wanted to keep drinking in the joy of their evening together without complication.

"_Even if that's only a mere hope, a miracle that I only imagine…"_

How long had they danced? How long had they sang? Hours? Miku wished their evening could last an eternity, where she didn't have to go back to being just a merchant's daughter with dreams of stardom. She wanted to stay in Kaito's arms all her life. She never could have imagined the "Demon Prince" she feared and loathed as a child would become the one person who made her the happiest.

A few simple words and she could tell him… what would he think, though? Would she possibly ruin what they shared? For once, Miku's boldness failed her even as her heart felt like it would burst with the emotions it tried to contain.

"_When I can't confess anything, I can't say good bye, either…."_

Kaito fought against the weariness of the late hours. They'd been the happiest hours of his entire life. He'd dance until he collapsed if he had to if it meant even one more minute with the woman he loved.

Again and again he silenced his tongue, even though all around him lay the signs that Miku had been lifting the curse. The ballroom looked as grand as the day the kingdom fell, his loyal knight nearly solid again. And yet… what if she didn't feel the way he'd hoped, even if he finally made his emotions plain?

Could he bear the rejection?

"_Even if this voice fades…this melody shall not fade…"_

Miku stared into Kaito's eyes behind his mask. She wished she could read the secretive man's mind, learn the truth about his feelings and emotions. Did he feel about her the way she did?

More importantly…did she feel about him the way her dream implied?

She'd spent her life planning on marrying some mythical prince that would make her life easier. If she chose Kaito… life would be harder.

But she couldn't dance with a prince that didn't exist. Right now, she could dance with Kaito, for he was real. More and more, she wanted to tell him that she'd far rather have the man who'd danced with her, sang with her, trained her, and shared stories with her than a fictional man with a box of jewels.

"_And when I think that the end will come someday..."_

Could he really go back to life without Miku? Of nothing but Gakupo to keep him company, of hiding in his gardening? When she left, would all the good she'd wrought fade?

His heart felt about to shatter, but still he tried to keep smiling. He refused to deprive Miku of her happiness even as he grasped at some way to ensure his own. Perhaps it truly was better this way, to let her go and shield his heart...

"_In this night sky I pray for that smile to remain forever…"_

Miku tried to lose herself in Kaito's warmth. That smile that could always cheer her up, that had once been so rare and precious. Would he still smile when she left? Would he stop singing? No… she couldn't bear it! She wouldn't _stand_ for it!

A tear ran down her face. Kaito appeared to notice and the couple stopped their dancing. "Miku…" he asked, "what's wrong?"

She looked up at his face, that face she feared never seeing again. She reached up and lay her hand upon his cheek. He looked surprised, but did nothing to stop her. She took a breath – she couldn't hold her emotions in any longer. "I can't…" she said, her eyes teary but a smile on her face, "I can't say goodbye… not to you…"

Did that kiss have to be something that only happened in a dream?

* * *

><p>For a moment, Kaito froze, not knowing what he was supposed to do but excited by her sudden intimate contact. How was it that Miku <em>always<em> managed to say whatever was on her mind while he'd stumble around obsessing over "just the right way" to handle something? Yet as he'd spent the hours quietly tormenting himself with what to say, Miku finally made the first move herself.

Miku removed her hand and placed her arms around Kaito's neck, drawing herself closer to him. He couldn't fight how much he loved her, how much he'd yearned to be with her, how much he wanted her now. He placed his hands at the small of her back, pulling her in tightly. Miku's eyes closed and she raised her face close to his. He leaned in, not willing to lose this precious opportunity…

Kaito, the Demon Prince, softly kissed Miku, the Maiden.

As they parted from the kiss, the two stayed in their embrace, neither willing to release the other. Kaito had drawn the girl in so close he could feel her rapid heartbeats. Finally, Miku raised her head and whispered to him the words he'd convinced himself he'd never hear…

"…Kaito… I love you…"

Elation filled his heart at those words. In the burst of emotions that followed, he wanted to respond – of course he loved her as well! He wanted to be with her for the rest of his life! So many secrets he no longer needed to keep! He wanted to kiss her again right then and finally open his heart to her…

…when he realized something was horribly wrong.

Kaito quickly disengaged from Miku's embrace. "Kaito?!" she cried out, looking confused and upset, "Did I do something wrong?!"

He stared at his hands. They remained claws, his skin still covered in scales. He ran his hands through his hair and felt his horns still present and certainly no smaller than before. He still felt the sharpness of his teeth, the same razors he'd had for years. When after several moments, he remained unchanged, horror filled his heart. _Something was wrong_.

As panic shot through him, he turned and fled the ballroom, not caring where he was going. He heard Miku trying to pursue him, but his unnatural speed allowed him to stay ahead of her easily. When he eventually stopped his mad sprint, Kaito found himself in the long disused throne room. He leaned over the chair that he once held court in with his mother.

_Until one loves you as truly as I._

"…why?" he whispered, "Why…didn't it work? Why am I still a monster?!"

"Because she does not love you."

A few pink rose petals drifted by him, causing Kaito to turn his attention towards a new visitor. Luka Megurine. Unlike the last time he'd seen her, when her face bore nothing but hatred and fury, now she wore a remorseful expression on her face. "Luka…how can you say that? She said she loved me!"

The fairy shook her head, looking at Kaito with the utmost pity. "I'm so sorry," she said ruefully, "But you can see the evidence for yourself. If she truly loved you… you would be human again."

_Until one loves you as truly as I._

'She… she doesn't love me…' As Luka's words reached him, Kaito slumped over his throne. Miku sounded so sincere… but he could not deny the truth when a simple glance in the mirror could refute his hopes to the contrary.

"My dear Prince…" Luka spoke, interrupting his private agony, "If you wish to prove you care about her welfare, it would be best if you released her. It would be the height of cruelty to keep a confused child who cannot break the spell."

'Of course…' he thought to himself, 'If Miku were to stay here… she'd be giving up everything… her family, her friends, her dreams…'

He grimaced. 'Her prince.' How badly he'd yearned to become that prince… but… it couldn't happen. It could _never_ happen. But what could he possibly say to Miku to convince her to go home after what she'd confessed to him?

"I'd suggest that mere platitudes will not disabuse a girl so caught up in confusion…" Luka added, as if reading his mind, "though it may sound harsh, being… strict with her will be more likely to convince her to return to her true home."

Kaito swallowed. He understood what the fairy was insinuating – he would need to break Miku's heart. Drive her away so she would never return. He heard the tapping of Miku's heels along the halls. She would be in the throne room at any moment…

"If it would ease you, Prince, I could send her away myself…"

At that, Kaito rose from the throne, trying to take a stronger position. "No. This is something only _I_ must do." He feared what Luka might have in mind if she thought ill of Miku – he'd never let any harm come to her if he could prevent it.

Kaito tried to gather up every ounce of strength he still had. He loathed what he knew he would need to say to her… it made him sick to even think of how she would react… but he had to do it… he loved Miku too much… any sorrow she felt now would be lesser than what she would feel over a life wasted away with the Demon Prince when she didn't even love him in return…

* * *

><p>Miku burst into the throne room, panting from the exertion of trying to keep up with Kaito. Her heart was filled with worry. Had she pushed him further than he was willing to go? Had she hurt the person she meant to keep close to her heart? But then why had he kissed her?!<p>

"Kaito…" she said, barely controlling her voice, "Whatever I did wrong…I'm sorry…I never wanted to hurt you…"

She saw Kaito standing with his back to her at one of the ancient thrones, his posture rigid. "No, Miku," he said coldly, "I'm the one that's sorry."

She felt a chill go down her spine – she'd never heard Kaito speak with even a hint of venom in his voice.

"I should have known someone as simple as you would mistake my generosity for something foolish."

His cruel words felt like daggers in her heart. Miku struggled to understand why he'd speak to her like this – she'd never heard him say anything so insulting. But… was this how he truly felt about her, all this time?! "Kaito!" Miku protested, tears streaming down her face as she tried to deny what she was hearing, "This isn't like you! Please, I never wanted to hurt you like this… but I don't know what I've done wrong!"

He still refused to face her. "Then clearly you didn't know the Demon Prince as well as you thought, you foolish child."

Kaito didn't even waver once as he continued his savage attack on Miku's heart. "It's best if you were to leave now…" he said, "You've far overstayed your welcome. And I have no use for scatter-brained, naive children like you!"

Miku clutched her mask in one hand, trying to control the flow of tears down her face. "Kaito… I didn't mean to force you to do something you didn't want… but I… I don't want to lose you! I still want to be your friend!"

Though he still didn't turn his head, his tone became far more poisonous. "I already gave you the means to go home!" he barked at her, "Why are you still here!? Do I have to chase you out myself!?"

He pounded his fist against the throne, causing the wood to shatter under the force.

Thoroughly broken and for the first time in a long while, completely frightened of him, Miku fled the throne room. She'd confessed everything in her heart to him… to the Demon Prince… and he hated her for it. All she could think of was going home again, of running as far as possible from the heartbreak she'd suffered…

* * *

><p>As he heard Miku's footsteps fade out, Kaito collapsed onto the remains of his throne. He hadn't even been able to look Miku in the eye – he knew his strength would falter the second he saw the effect his words had. But saying such horrible lies to the woman he still loved…he felt nauseous and sick. The more she pleaded with him, the harder it became for him to continue. Attacking everything he loved about Miku in her most vulnerable moments… had he really done the right thing? As a pink butterfly drifted in front of his face, he saw Luka reappear. Clearly, she'd merely concealed herself. Thus she'd heard every single wretched word exchanged between Kaito and Miku.<p>

"You may not realize it right now, but you've done a very noble thing. She'll be far happier back with her own kind, my dear Prince."

Kaito felt too weak to crawl out of the ruined chair. He'd destroyed any chance of ever seeing Miku again. She feared him… she would never come back… and it was _his_ fault…

"You set her free," she re-assured him.

Before the fairy could continue, her face darkened as she saw the figure of Gakupo in the door. "What happened in there?!" he angrily demanded, "Miku just ran away to her room in tears and now I see you here."

"I… I sent her home…" Kaito whispered.

Gakupo stared at him in shock, then his face filled with rage as he focused on Luka. "What did you tell him now, you horrible creature?!"

Kaito fumbled for how to explain what had just happened to him. "Gakupo… the curse didn't break… Miku… Miku doesn't…"

Luka took over for him. "His attempt failed," she said coldly, "I merely explained to him why. In spite of her claims to the contrary, the girl did not truly love him."

She rested a hand on Kaito's shoulder. "The prince merely cut her free…" she finished.

Gakupo's rage began to dissipate. Now he merely had a look of disappointment. "What do you intend to do now then, my Lord?" he asked.

Kaito tried to sort out his thoughts in the wake of the emotional assault he'd just experienced. "I… I don't know if I can do this again…" he murmured, "To give my entire heart to someone… only to have it lost again…"

"But my lord!" Gakupo argued, "That is the very nature of love!"

"…that is the nature of _mortal_ love."

Luka knelt down to place herself at eye level with the shattered prince, blocking his line of sight with his friend. "My dear Kaito," she said, "I come to you tonight, as I did earlier this winter, to offer you a kindness. It appears it was wise for me to arrive tonight in light of… the circumstances."

Despite the fact that Kaito knew how much fury Luka could possess, her face appeared soft and understanding. She looked so much more like she did in happier days… how he missed being able to trust her instead of fear her…

"I cannot lift the curse – once the terms are set, they are binding. But I can offer you something else… something I know you want to have."

She leaned in closer to him. Uncomfortably close. "Kaito… I confess that… even after all this time… after seeing the wickedness in your heart and what it's done to you… that I still love you."

Kaito gripped the edge of the throne, but he didn't prevent her from continuing.

"That's why… I've been able to bargain with the Fairy Court to grant you a home amongst us."

"That is your 'kindness?' To wrench him from one prison to another?!" Gakupo interrupted.

Kaito remained silent as he tried to make sense of what Luka's offer meant. The Fairy Court existed in another world entirely. He'd never see another human again – essentially, he'd be surrendering any chance of escaping his curse.

"I promise… amongst the rest of the immortals, none would think any different of you there. And I would spend every moment for the rest of eternity keeping you happy."

She smiled softly at him and pressed a hand to his cheek. The way _Miku_ had touched him. His body tensed up at the unwanted contact.

"You will never suffer this rejection again."

Gakupo's earlier fury returned full force. "So that's been your scheme from the beginning," he growled, "Cut him off from everyone and everything in this world, then drag him away with you when he's left with no other choice."

Kaito saw the anger flash in Luka's eyes, but she showed remarkable restraint. "I'm granting him a second chance, you oaf," she scolded.

"My Lord, you are not seriously considering…"

Finally, Kaito found the words to speak. "Please… all I want right now… is to be left alone."

He lightly touched Luka's hand and slid it away from his face. "I can't be expected to decide… anything… right now."

Luka nodded in acquiescence. "But of course," she said, "You need time."

She turned away from him and began to walk out of the throne room. "I shall return to this castle at midnight on the seventh day. All I ask is that you make your final decision by then."

Before she vanished again, she shot an angry look at the samurai. "And though I am _loathe_ to do so given your consistent disrespectful behavior, the Queen demanded that I open my invitation to _you_ as well. Amongst the fairies, you shall be as you were before the Prince's wickedness stripped you of your life."

"I do not intend to go anywhere where I must look upon you every day!" Gakupo spat.

In spite of the hostility of his response, Luka appeared somewhat relieved at this particular rejection. When all that remained of Luka were the flowers and the butterflies, Gakupo approached his Master. "Are you seriously considering her proposal? Have you given up entirely?" he asked somberly.

Kaito had no answer. It appeared that all paths laying before him from now on led to him losing something important. He was being forced to choose which one would hurt him the least. He could try again… he could try to find another person… and hope this time he didn't fail as he'd failed over the last hundred years…

But he didn't want another person… he wanted Miku…

"I'm… not ruling anything out," he said noncommittally, trying to stay composed in front of his friend in spite of the torturous thoughts tearing at what remained of his heart.

The samurai seemed taken aback, but then he bowed before his Prince. "In that case… I take my leave of you, my Lord."

In a few moments, Kaito was now entirely alone. Miku was gone. Gakupo was gone. The only one he trusted to return was the woman that had cursed him in the first place. Someone he had once called a dear friend.

He touched his lips, remembering the one sweet, emotional kiss. For those precious few moments Before everything wonderful went so horribly wrong. "Miku…." he whispered, tears finally forming in his eyes, "I'm so sorry…"

* * *

><p>Merchant Hatsune heard a rapping downstairs at the front door. He bolted from his bed at once. He'd been waiting weeks for news, any news, about the fate of his beloved daughter.<p>

He quickly threw on a decent pair of clothes. Nobody in Melodia would be knocking at his door at this hour… unless news of Miku had reached them. As he hurried to open the door, he prayed it would not be news of Miku's untimely death…

In the glowing moonlight, in the glamorous ball gown and mask, Hatsune almost didn't recognize that the woman standing in front of him was in fact his missing daughter. "Papa…" she said.

"Miku!" he shouted, clutching the girl tightly to him as tears came to his eyes. He thought his heart might burst from happiness at seeing his darling child alive and safe after so many long weeks of worry. "Miku, you're safe! Thank all the spirits of the wood that you've come home safely! I feared my foolishness had sent you to your death!"

As his daughter embraced him, he felt a dampness on his shoulder. He glanced up and saw, behind her mask, that Miku's eyes were red and puffy from crying. He had so many questions – how she had arrived, why she was dressed in such splendor, where she had stayed! But right now, he sensed that it was more important to comfort her. For while he could not know the reason, he understood that something terrible had happened.

Miku's heart was broken.

* * *

><p>The samurai marched from the castle grounds, his eyes on the woods ahead of him. In a matter of hours, everything he and his Master had worked towards the entire winter lay shattered. For a brief moment, he'd even begun to lose faith in Prince Kaito as he watched his lord seriously contemplate abandoning every single person in Shion to their fate. At the invitation of the very fairy that placed him in such a state in the first place, no less! Yet in the end, he could not be angry with him. Upon hearing the dreadful truth even Gakupo felt the heavy weight of depression, knowing that after holding out so much hope for a reprieve from their curse, nothing changed. With Luka bending the Prince's ear and spewing foul lies, just after his deepest setback… it was a wonder Kaito had the emotional strength to bid for time. Gakupo suspected that somehow Luka might have even convinced Kaito that getting rid of the girl he loved was the better option for her.<p>

As for whether he'd lost faith in Miku… He couldn't answer that, not yet. He still barely knew the girl – and simply listening to her talking to herself at night when unguarded didn't sufficiently explain something as complex as a human's heart. Even so, the question still lingered in his mind. Luka's explanation for the Prince's behavior suggested that Miku had beaten Kaito to the punch and confessed her feelings to him. Yet the curse's power remained ever tight over the two of them. No doubt Luka intended to portray this as a failing of Miku's heart, but more and more, Gakupo remained unconvinced. 'That girl managed to lift so much of the curse on her own,' he thought to himself, 'I can't explain how, but I also can't argue with the facts. Somehow… we've gotten something wrong. I feel as if that Miku girl is still the key to solving everything…'

His sandals crunched in the snow, but a ghost needed not worry about proper footwear. For once, Gakupo's own curse would be useful to him. As he always reminded himself… while it was Kaito's job to break the curse on both of them, it was _Gakupo's_ job to clear any obstacles in his path. And now, with the situation so dire… it was time to take an incredible risk. For both of their sakes.

He clenched Miburi tightly. 'Seven days,' he thought to himself, 'seven days is all I have.'

He smirked. 'Plenty of time.'

* * *

><p>AN:

This chapter is not going to endear me to any Luka fans, is it? And may I apologize to the guest reviewer from last week who was sad Luka had to be a bad guy.

The closer this chapter got to coming out, the more anxious I got about it. I mean, as an author, when I literally got a comment begging me not to make a reader cry, I felt super evil and pretty happy that I'd made somebody care enough about my little slice of Vocaloid fan fiction that I literally held their heart in the palm of my hand. And every week when someone posted "Yay, they're falling in love, I can't wait until they finally confess!", I kept cackling while knowing how close I was getting to this payoff, this big monkey wrench thrown into the normal direction of the fairy tale. This plot point, this whole catch about the nature of the curse that just saying "I love you" and kissing the Beast would not be the resolution, but merely the kick off to the climax, was the main impetus for me to go ahead and try to write a story based on a really well-known fairy tale. I didn't want to JUST write a story where the Vocaloids are playing essentially the same characters but with a few minor differences – I wanted to say something new.

I hope you stick around to see where Kaito and Miku end up after such a tragic twist to their story. There is so much more left for these characters to do now that circumstance has separated the three principle protagonists. But most of all… I hope that even if you did in fact start crying, you are still enjoying the story. And again, I reassure you – the last three chapters are already written and ready to be released over the remainder of 2014, the last chapter currently scheduled for December 31st. You are not going to read a story with a massive, painful cliffhanger and then see no resolution.

Still, I rewrote the break up scene so many times. Seriously, these are the hardest scenes for me to watch or read because most of the time they're not written with any grace or respect for the characters, and a lot of times I come out of them hating the characters. I really, really didn't want anyone to come out of that scene hating Kaito or Miku. I wanted it clear why they make the choices they make and why it makes sense that they make them. If you come out hating them… I'll have failed. If you come out hating Luka, I'll have succeeded =D

The only song in this chapter was the ever popular Last Night, Good Night. Thought it was perfect – it's a song all about the uncertainty of seeing someone you love again. And it's also my favorite Kaito and Miku duet (even if it's just a cover). Actually, I pretty much had that one song in mind for that scene by the time I started writing this chapter. The title of this chapter is a reference to "Oni to Musume", one popular translation of which is "The Ogre and the Maiden." Well, you can also translate Oni to Demon… and oh yea, it's a song about Kaito being a monster that befriends Miku but is forced to leave her by outside forces. Boohoo, what kind of evil author would do that to him? ;) Also, while the song "Cantarella" did not actually appear in the story, I raided the wardrobe from the Grace Edition PV (and Gakupo also made a reference to Kaito playing the violin from the Project Diva PV of the same song). Why didn't I use any lyrics? Come on, the Kaito in this story can barely work up the guts to say "I love you," you really think he'd suddenly start serenading Miku with a ballad about trying to have sex with her? Bit out of character this time ;)


	8. Chapter 8: The Fair Folk

**Chapter 8: The Fair Folk**

_Miku gracefully bowed towards her adoring public as the stage was showered in red roses. Yet all the red roses in the world meant nothing to her. She kept seeking out the one that came from _him_. When it never appeared, Miku clutched her hands to her chest and turned to leave, trying not to allow anyone to see her cry._

_Crossing the curtain, her eyes moved past the ever regular presence of her "Prince", delivering the same fantastical proposal as usual. She only wanted to see her true love… yet the familiar door was empty._

_As the prince wrapped up his speech, all Miku could do was hold her head in her hands and cry. The man she loved was gone…_

Miku tried to drag herself out of her bed. Her body felt tired and heavy, from both physical and emotional exhaustion. Slowly, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, staring around at her own bedroom that she'd missed so much. Her father had left it completely neat and clean for her – no doubt he'd probably checked on it for days on end, awaiting the day his beloved only child returned from her mysterious journey.

The only signs of disorder remained the discarded ball gown on her chair and the golden mirror resting on her vanity. The two solemn reminders of the person she'd lost. Her eyes began to tear up again, though she fought to stay strong. Even if he didn't love her… she still intended to protect him. If the people in her village knew just how close the dreaded Demon Prince truly was, they'd no doubt attempt to kill him like the Prince in Kaito's tales. The tears in her eyes would only invite more questions she did not intend to answer.

Finally, she made it out of the bed, walking over to her ball gown, the mask still resting on the skirt. Tenderly, she placed the mask in the top drawer of her vanity and the ball gown in her wardrobe. For a moment, she tried to relive the hours upon hours she spent in _his_ arms and how deliriously happy those hours were. That one, precious kiss she dared take…

But the way it all ended…

Miku reached for her plainest house dress. Her father would not be up until the sun rose, and she knew her sleep would not come easily. Someone had to take care of everything… perhaps if she threw herself into nothing but hard work, she could protect her heart.

As she went to the vanity to pin up her hair, her eyes fell on a small brown keepsake box on the surface. Her eyes flickered with emotion. She began to reach for the box, then stayed her hand. She didn't have the strength. Not today.

* * *

><p>Merchant Hatsune was awoken by the sound of wood chopping outside the house. It was barely past dawn… far too early for anyone else to be up on a winter's day. He'd barely slept a wink after his daughter had arrived in the night, dressed in elegant fineries and sobbing over a tale she refused to tell.<p>

He put on his clothes to investigate. As he walked outside the house, the sight in front of him struck terror in his heart.

"MIKU! What are you doing with that axe?!"

Upon hearing his voice, Miku turned to face him, lowering the axe she was holding. "I was just chopping some more firewood. We're almost out!" she explained, "What does it look like?"

"But… but…"

Miku turned away from her father and raised the axe to split another log. "Oh, but if you want to help me out, can you keep an eye on the porridge? I don't want it to burn!"

Hatsune watched in stunned silence for several minutes as Miku effortlessly split several more logs on her own. Unable to come up with a proper response to his daughter's sudden affliction of responsibility, he walked back inside. Entering his kitchen, he saw a pot of porridge boiling on the lit stove.

* * *

><p>Kaito wandered the empty ballroom, staring up at the roses he'd hung so carefully the day before. The look of enchantment on Miku's face when she entered the ballroom had made the efforts so much more worthwhile. His mind kept turning over the events as they'd taken place. The hours of dancing until near exhaustion, neither partner wishing to cease lest they be the one to hasten the end of a glorious evening. The songs they'd shared, their harmonies echoing across the empty walls. The words she'd confessed to him, the brief moment of intimacy they'd shared…<p>

…the moment when all of it crashed down upon him and he discovered he could never have the woman he loved.

He'd seen no sign of Gakupo since the night before. He could only conclude that he'd finally managed to drive off the only friend he had left. Or worse – perhaps he'd so shaken the faith of his knight that he'd finally vanished into the mist along with everything else.

Kaito touched a hand to his jacket where he'd placed the blossom he'd been gifted before. He knew it was wrong to keep so many mementos of a woman he couldn't be with any longer… but he felt so weak and miserable that he'd begun to feel as though the mementos were the only things keeping him from completely collapsing into a well of his own self-pity.

"_Why are you still here!? Get out, before I chase you out!"_

'… she must have been terrified…' he thought to himself. He stared at his claws, filling with loathing. 'Just when she'd finally stopped running away frightened… and I go do a thing like that to plant those fears right back in her head…'

Over and over, his thoughts returned to Luka's invitation. To do so meant forsaking any and every chance of freeing himself. He'd be abandoning his home and everyone in it to their fates. Part of him felt there was no choice at all – he could not simply let others suffer while he ran away. But as his every thought of Miku and his hopeless curse clawed at his resolve, the thought of escaping grew so much more tempting. Selfish though it was, he doubted he could last much longer in this castle where everything reminded him of something so precious. The idea of falling in love with someone as deeply as he had with Miku, only to discover so harshly that once again his curse remained in place… to have to send away another precious person and recover from the loss all over again…

The selfish part of him felt it the less painful option to simply spend an eternity with a woman who at least claimed to love him. Perhaps with enough time…

'…maybe Luka would go back to the way she used to be.'

_Kaito pulled a dead leaf from one of the roses and smiled. "There… that's the last one…"_

_He felt proud of himself – he'd spent the last month tending to the enchanted gardens entirely alone, and they'd thrived under his care. His mother would no doubt feel proud of him, at sixteen summers of age, for taking on such an important responsibility. Maybe enough that she'd stop pressuring him to study matters of war again now that he proved capable of handling the gardens by himself._

_He noticed a glowing pink butterfly fluttering before him. Staring at the odd sight for a moment, a gust of pink rose petals drew his attention behind him. To his amazement, a beautiful girl with long pink hair and a sleeveless black and gold gown stood in the garden path. He rubbed his eyes as the light from the sun glinted off her pink wings._

"_I was afraid your family had forgotten us," she said softly._

_Kaito stood in awe as he knew immediately what this woman was. "You're a fairy!" he exclaimed, excitement in his voice._

_The ethereal expression she wore shifted and he caught a glimpse of… no, not anger. Curiosity. This beautiful creature was attempting to determine his intentions. He knew to choose his next words with care._

"_What I meant to say was… I've never met one from your court before," he recovered, "I'd begun to fear I never would."_

_A sly smile appeared on her face. "Your mother thinks very little of us," she remarked, "She only took on her tasks out of a sense of duty. Not love."_

_The woman approached a bush filled with pink roses, stroking the petals delicately with a black gloved hand. "But you… you show them a care not unlike your ancestor who we gave them to."_

_Kaito ran a nervous hand through his hair. He wasn't used to compliments like this – even more so from an immortal like this creature. "The flowers are as much a part of this kingdom as the people…" he said._

_As he spoke, he gazed out over the trees where in the distance he could make out some of the villages and towns in his domain. Towns he'd rarely been allowed to set foot in, but filled with people he felt responsible for all the same. "If I can tend to them and make even something so tender and fragile thrive… surely I can care for the people I'm intended to rule."_

_He thought he heard the fairy laugh. She turned to face him, her smile much warmer. "Prince Kaito," she said to him, "your perspective is most unusual."_

_Of course she knew his name. Surely at least one of the Fair Folk had been present at his christening. "I look forward to what truths lie in your heart."_

_He chose to accept her odd words as a compliment and bowed courteously to the fairy. "Thank you," he said, "But I don't believe I learned your name."_

_A small laugh. "I go by Luka Megurine."_

_Kaito gave her another polite bow. "I hope to see you again, Luka. You're always welcome here."_

Kaito contemplated pulling the roses back down and cleaning up the ballroom. Then again… if he were simply going to leave in a few days… there wasn't much point. As the lone occupant of the castle, nobody else could object to how he felt like living in it.

For a moments, his mind flashed to Miku dancing in the garden wearing her flower crown. He clutched a hand to his chest. He wanted to forget her, to try and let go of the pain of their parting… but at the same time… he never wanted to lose even the memories of her, of the wonderful, brief winter they shared.

He kept his eyes on the roses and decided to leave them be. He quite liked the look of them anyway.

* * *

><p>"Well, it's about time that girl started acting more like a proper young lady!"<p>

Madam Sakine sipped her tea cup. "You were always going to have trouble marrying her off, you know…"

Hatsune seemed taken aback at the elder, portly brown haired woman's attitude. "I wasn't concerned about whether Miku was marriageable!" he protested, "I'm more concerned that Miku isn't acting at all like herself!"

He sighed as he drank his tea. "Any father would be happy to see his daughter take such an active role in keeping up her home," he lamented, "and I don't wish to be ungrateful that mine has suddenly become possessed of greater concern for the both of us. I just wish it hadn't come at the expense of her happiness…"

Madam Sakine dismissively waved her hand. "Goodness, you should be happy she's given up all that nonsense about running away to become a singer!" she said, "Now she can focus on what's important for a woman. Being able to sing will make her a nice catch, but not if she's planning on joining that riff-raff in Arlisia!"

In reality, Hatsune had not arrived with the intent of dealing with Madam Sakine. In actuality, he'd come calling seeking her stepdaughter. Meiko tended to be far more invested in caring for the village children – and he suspected her insight into the situation might be prove fruitful into helping solve his daughter's problem.

Miku still refused to explain her sudden arrival three days earlier. She merely worked around the house trying to clean every inch of it, cooking all their meals, and any other chores she could throw herself into. Not an entirely bad development. But not at the cost of that which she used to profess her love to – the art of song.

For ever since Miku's return, not even a single note passed her lips. Her piano sat untouched. Her courier trips became unnervingly silent. When her father pressed her as to the reasoning, she only gave a vague response.

"My heart's not into it."

Unfortunately for Hatsune, when he'd stopped by the winery, Meiko had already departed – though the snow remained on the ground in Melodia, she'd assumed Miku's arrival meant that the roads to Arlisia might finally be clear – and she'd planned a trip for supplies. So he couldn't expect to see her for several more days.

Which meant the endurance round with the ever-pleasant Madam.

"Now, if only some of that would rub off on that stepdaughter of mine! That girl won't stop obsessing over work, and you wouldn't believe what she gets into!"

She leaned forward. "Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if she's nipping into the wine... though she'll never admit to it!"

"Why, I can't imagine why she'd want to do that," Hatsune responded, trying not to sound sarcastic in his response.

* * *

><p>Five days. Five days had passed since the castle became a truly isolated prison. Now without even his loyal friend at his side, Kaito felt his grip on his sanity slipping. Kaito stumbled around the garden weakly. He'd barely slept. When he did, the nightmares became ever more tortuous. Now he didn't just dream of the torment he'd suffered from Luka, but of the loss of his truest companion and his beloved.<p>

The only thing that drove him remained the precious garden. His sacred duty. But ever since Miku's departure, it had turned far more somber. Where he'd once been content to tend to the flowers in silence, not having Miku chatting at him made the silence maddening.

In two days, he had a massive choice to make. As that last day drew ever closer, however, Kaito began to lose the will to stay behind. The powers of the Fair Folk were vast and uncompromising – he knew now just how powerless he truly was in the face of them.

Perhaps… he could ask them another kindness when he arrived in their realm. The first, to insist that regardless of Gakupo's rejection of their invitation, that he always be granted the opportunity to join him. Second… he could ask them to allow him to forget the world he was leaving.

_As Kaito clipped a few more dead leaves from the bushes, his voice carried throughout the garden. He'd become particularly fond of a song from the far eastern land that his new mentor hailed from._

_But today… he had a different partner._

"_The dry wintry wind breezes through, and the dry tree leaves flutter along…" he sang out._

"_As they await the day of their union, they walk along, counting the time they have…" Luka responded._

_The harmony of a fairy and a human was a wondrous feeling._

_Over the past year, Luka stopped by more and more frequently. At first, she'd merely compliment his gardening. Just knowing he'd made one of the creatures that permitted him this privilege was pleased made him happy enough._

_But as the wars raged on outside his home, and his mother continued to try and pull him deeper and deeper into it, Luka had become something else to him. A much needed confidant._

_It's not that he couldn't trust Gakupo – but he knew that a warrior, even a "Dancing Samurai", wouldn't entirely understand Kaito's aversion to battle. But an immortal fairy, one who had witnessed thousands of wars and the havoc that lay in their wake, she seemed to understand his concerns._

_About not being a strong enough ruler._

_About the expectations that he wage the very wars he loathed._

_But right now, she understood he only wanted one thing. A partner in song._

"_Having bid goodbye to their scorched hometown, they run along, led by the leaf's hand…"_

"_Things such as uneasiness about the invisible future or even the leisure to feel uneasy, they have none…"_

_To share such an honor with a fairy granted him that rare peace he sought in such turbulent times._

* * *

><p>"Hatsune…stepmother said you were looking for me?"<p>

Meiko approached the merchant and bowed respectfully. "I'm sorry I didn't catch you when I came back…" she said, "I know it sounds bizarre with Miku back and all but… well, the bridge to Arlisia was still out! And the snow was so thick I only barely got through!"

Meiko let out a huff. "I mean, it sounded like _someone _was working on it," she continued, "I heard someone hacking up some trees and there were some sticks lying across what was left of the structure, but not enough for a person to get across safely."

She shook her head. "I tried calling out to whoever was working on it, but I didn't get an answer…"

Another puzzle to be solved. Hatsune let out a sigh. "I'm afraid nothing is as it seems with my daughter's return," the older man lamented.

"Ugh, and wouldn't you know that old harpy had me running around the last three days for her…I don't honestly know why she can't handle some of this herself!"

'With such a blunt tongue, I imagine Madam Sakine really has her hands full,' Hatsune thought to himself.

Aloud, he explained his plight to the girl. "Surely you've noticed how much my daughter appears to suffer…" he began to say.

"Oh, because of the guy who broke up with her?"

Hatsune was dumb-founded. "You can't be serious! She told you already!?" he exclaimed.

Meiko shook her head. "No, no, no… but there's not much in the world that'd take the spirit of a person quite like a rejection, you know?" she explained.

With a giggle, she added "Maybe Miku finally got a wake-up call from that 'prince' she always wanted!"

So… Miku was in love… perhaps that's why she'd been so coy.

"Uh… if you're really worried though," Meiko interjected, "I could talk to her, try and help her get over him."

The merchant nodded. "Unfortunately, Miku is currently in the process of scrubbing the kitchen until it's spotless…" he said, sounding embarrassed, "You'd be best off catching her after her mail route tomorrow. She's planned quite the intense routine for herself."

Meiko smiled. "No problem, sir," she said, "Frankly, I've been curious to know all week… and I guess I'd better catch her before the Kagamines do… they're on the prowl again…"

* * *

><p>Kaito stared out over the landscape from his mother's former bedroom. This would be his final night in the home he was born in. He glanced towards her bed. Miku had slept in that bed for months, not realizing just whose hospitality she'd been accepting.<p>

"Mother…" he murmured.

"…_she wants me to marry."_

_Kaito let out a sigh as he watered the base of the bushes. "She said it's useless to argue. A man of eighteen summers should have married already, but she said she granted me extra time. She said our kingdom cannot go without another heir…"_

_He shook his head as he brushed some twigs from his fine white and blue uniform with a white gloved hand. He'd been kept at court in the morning when he normally spent his time in the gardens. His mother surprised him with the announcement of his "search for a partner" by announcing it to the entire court. A shrewd tactic, but one that required him to pretend he'd gone along with it in public before he had a chance to convince her otherwise. He'd been so flustered from the argument he'd had with his mother in private that he hadn't even bothered to change his clothes – he just wanted to go straight back to the gardens that gave him solace, and the friend he trusted to listen to him. Everyone in the castle had given him a deep berth – he'd never raised his voice so in his life. Even Gakupo seemed willing to grant the Prince time to himself to cool off._

"_She'll probably marry me off to someone she needs to seal a pact with and that will be that…"_

_He lightly caressed one of the roses. "I guess I was naïve… I'd hoped I could marry someone who loved me… not someone who *has* to love me. I can't even start a family out of love… she'll treat my children like pawns…"_

_Luka had stayed unusually quiet since he'd said the word 'marriage.' But as Kaito turned away from the rose, he saw her standing uncomfortably close. She had her hands clasped to her heart, her eyes a rare swirl of emotion. "Luka?"_

_She took a deep breath. "Kaito… if you do not wish to marry… then don't."_

_Kaito ran a hand through his hair. "I can't just run away from it," he muttered._

_Luka giggled. "Who says you can't do just that?"_

_Another sigh from the depressed Prince. "It's my duty to marry for my kingdom… to continue our bloodline…" he said, repeating the justification his mother gave him bitterly, "I can't abandon my people when I'm the only heir."_

_She leaned in even closer to him. Kaito felt his heart race as he realized he had a hunch what Luka was offering. "Kaito… I… I can't say this easily. This is something an immortal cannot take lightly… but…"_

_She touched a gloved hand to his face. "Kaito…please… run away with me. Come back to the Fairy Court with me and leave these trivial matters to the humans to sort out."_

"_Luka… I…"_

"…_Kaito, what I'm trying to say is… your dream of marrying someone who loves you is possible. Because…"_

_Her voice hitched – the fairy seemed caught in a moment of hesitation. "…because I love you."_

_Kaito stood dumb-founded. Luka was in love with him!? He'd never had someone confess something like to him before – he didn't even know what to say right away._

"_Kaito…the human's concerns need not be yours if you stand by my side… I promise to shield you from them," Luka pleaded, "But after all these years we've spent together… the wonderful things you've said…. I cannot hold back my heart any longer."_

_What could he possibly say to her? He cherished Luka's company of course – she'd been one of only two of the people in his life that he truly trusted. That treated him like a true friend. But… it wasn't even just the rashness of her proposal that bothered him. Nor the utter impracticality of it all – as tempted as he felt to simply leave the kingdom behind, Shion would fall apart rather quickly if its sole heir vanished overnight._

_But more importantly…as much as he liked Luka… Kaito knew in his heart that he hadn't fallen in love with her. He could not simply use her as an escape if he couldn't even promise to genuinely return her feelings. He softly touched her hand and lowered it from his face. "Luka…" he said gently, hoping his words could soothe the heartbreak he would no doubt inflict, "I'm sorry… I… I will always care about you. But I didn't mean to give you a false impression… I just want you to be my friend. That's all."_

_At first, Luka stared at him in shock as the concept of a rejection settled over her. Kaito felt guilt building up inside of him – he didn't wish to hurt her. As her expression turned to sorrow, as if the fairy was about to cry, Kaito fumbled for something else to say to try and soften the blow he'd dealt to her._

_But before those words came to him, he saw the fairy's sorrow replaced with an expression of pure fury. "You! You wretched, evil man!"_

_Kaito took a few steps away from her, shocked by Luka's sudden rage. She pointed a finger at him. "Do you truly believe yourself above the immortals!? Do you think of yourself my better?!"_

"_Luka, of course not! I didn't say that! I only meant – " _

_But the fairy paid him no heed as her anger continued to increase. "Leading me on for all these long years… only to reject the precious gift of an immortal's love when it becomes inconvenient!"_

_She screamed with rage and Kaito felt the crackling of magic around him. He looked up as the sky began to turn dark. As the effects of her heartbreak became more dangerous, Kaito remembered too late that Luka was not just his friend, but a creature of great power – and one with a very different set of values and understanding. He tried one last time to calm her, to stave off whatever magic she was about to cast. He tried to appeal to the closeness they'd shared for so long. "Please, Luka, listen to me! I'd never want to hurt you! You're my friend! Please, understand that I still care about you!"_

_Luka raised her eyes to face him, black energy swirling around her hands. "What I understand… is the wicked heart you've revealed to me, hidden well behind that handsome face of yours. The way you manipulated my kindness for so long. And I intend to prevent you from ever doing so again!"_

_Before Kaito could so much as run, Luka fired two bolts of energy at him. Magic began to course through his body as he convulsed with her power._

"_Prince Kaito! You have no capacity for love! A selfish, black heart! I shall ensure the world knows the truth about you!"_

_He felt his skin burning all over, the rest of his body being tugged and warped, his head pounding as though something was trying to escape his skull. Kaito screamed as the pain overwhelmed him, too much for him to speak, to beg for Luka to stop._

"_Whenever anyone shall look upon you, they shall come to fear you…for they will see your true self reflected upon your face!"_

_As the magic faded, Kaito collapsed to the ground, the horrible pain ceasing. He tried to get his bearings, placing a hand to his head…_

…_and touching a pair of horns._

_For the first time, Kaito felt true fear as Luka threw him an elaborate golden hand mirror and he could see the true extent of her magic wrought upon him. Along the ground lay the tattered remains of the gloves his larger, scaly, clawed hands had burst out of. As he tried to grasp that the horrible, ugly creature staring back from his reflection was him, his panic only increased._

"_Luka… please!" he begged, "I didn't mean to hurt you… please… change me back…"_

_But he saw not an ounce of mercy on the enraged fairy's face. "The terms are set," she said coldly, "You and your kingdom shall stay this way, eternal and unchanging… until one loves you as truly as I."_

_Kaito ran from the garden, away from the "friend" he'd so trusted. He sought help – but he found far worse as he ran into the servants and staff that he'd known so much of his life. The weaker in spirit began screaming at the sight of him, running for their lives. The stronger hearted began to pull out weapons, meaning to defend themselves and others._

"_Guards! Guards! There's a monster in the castle!"_

"_No, please! It's me! I'm Prince Kaito! You have to help me!"_

"_Kill that thing, before it kills us!"_

'_They don't even recognize me!' he thought. His pleas fell on deaf ears as he held up his hands, trying to shield himself from the swords and spears rushing towards him. But before a single weapon touched him, the people around him began to fade away into clouds of mist. Kaito watched as each and every one of them vanished, all screaming and cursing the monster that had doomed them._

_His legs finally gave out and he fell to his knees. He was soon left entirely alone._

'_Until one loves you as truly as I…'_

"_Im…impossible…" he whispered, "No one could love a monster…"_

…in truth, that premonition of his on the day he became the "Demon Prince" proved true. Kaito had lived through Luka's curse for a hundred years now, never aging, never dying. Every time he'd gotten up the nerve to try and exist among humans again, he'd suffered for it. Eventually he ceased leaving the castle at all, willingly becoming a prisoner in his own home. Eventually his weary heart could take the constant rejections no more. He couldn't blame the humans – they only reacted naturally, as Luka declared they would. And he… he was no longer human.

He tried to recall all the people who he'd lost in a single moment. Many of the servants in the castle remained friends of the family. The royal guards he'd come to know by name given their near constant presence in his life. Those towns and cities he'd been raised to believe he was intended to rule over, that he'd so rarely travelled to… he'd only had the strength to visit them once since the curse fell. Now all empty husks – people who'd trusted their protection to him, now nothing more than mist in cities overgrown by trees. If they'd only known his folly, they'd no doubt curse him as much as those living now who knew nothing of the fate of the former Prince of Shion – only of the Demon Prince.

And of course, there remained his only living relative, his mother. He grimaced upon remembering their unpleasant, final encounter. For much of his life, he'd never entirely seen eye to eye with the Queen, though they'd deeply cared for each other. But the sudden volatility of their realm began to draw them apart, and their explosive argument as Kaito fought for his ideals while the Queen fought to make him see reality showed how different they'd become.

He loathed that the last time he'd seen her alive was so tainted. Would they have made up? Would he have come to accept her perspective? Would she grant him some freedom? He'd not seen her in one hundred years. And every day, he fought the wear of so many long years to try and remember every inch of her face. If he left with Luka, she would drift right out of his mind…

A familiar sight on a nightstand caught his eye. A chain of roses in the shape of a crown. Though Miku cut them and weaved them at the start of the winter, they looked as fresh and alive now as they did the day she placed them in her hair. Their fragile lives a testament to his dedication to the garden.

He recalled the cute way she blushed when he'd complimented her on the crown. So innocent was she that she'd forgotten to take them out until someone pointed it out to her. From how embarrassed she'd gotten, he questioned if perhaps the people in her home town liked to tease her for her whims.

"Wherever she is right now…" he whispered, "She's probably happy… as it should be."

* * *

><p><em>Miku gracefully bowed towards her adoring public as the stage was showered in red roses. Once again, no sign of the blue rose. She practically ran from the stage lest she completely break down in front of the people who'd only known her as the world's finest Diva.<em>

_Crossing the curtain, she spied once again her fantasy "Prince" and prepared to simply run past him. But this time, before he spoke, he let out a shout. "Lo! It seems I am already too late!"_

_His sudden sorrow made her pause. "What?" she asked, holding back her tears._

"_Why, fair Miku, is that not your true love's token resting upon your lovely head?"_

_Miku quickly touched the top of her head, feeling around until her hand touched something soft. A blue rose nestled in-between one of her pigtails._

"_But… my love is not here…" she said sorrowfully, "I fear he'll not return…"_

_The prince looked aghast. "And you intend to leave it that way?!"_

_He motioned to the open door behind her. "Fair Miku, your true love will not simply come to seek you out…" he declared, "It is you who must fetch him!"_

_Miku stared at the Prince as his words began to affect her. She nodded her head and felt determination well up in her heart._

"_Thank you!" she cried out as she turned for the empty door and charged through the threshold._

_No matter how far he was. No matter what danger he was in. Miku would find him._

The sun of the seventh day since her return awoke Miku from her passionate dream. She sat up in bed, trying to recount what it meant. She stared at the mirror on her desk. Was she to just fly back to Kaito's side right now? She had a magic mirror… it would be as simple as holding it and shouting the incantation.

Yet… she found herself hesitating as that awful night flew back into her mind. _'Do I have to chase you out myself!?'_ His angry words struck fear into her heart and her courage began to falter again. She felt like a scared child all over again, even though in her heart she still believed now that Kaito would never lay a hand on her in anger…

Miku dragged herself out of her bed, now far more comfortable with her new routine. By the time she'd gotten dressed again, she stared at the box on her dresser. She found herself reaching for it discretely, her fingers curling with tension as they hovered over the lid. Finally, she lifted it open and prepared herself to finally look upon its contents.

Inside the box lay the single blue rose she'd stolen from Kaito's garden the day she first met him. The rose she'd tucked into her hair and escaped with, a memento of a man she'd both feared and pondered for months. Now, she understood the nature of its enchantment – and it brought her some cheer to see it still just as lively and healthy as it appeared the day she'd spirited it away. So he was still safe.

With a swift motion, she plucked the rose from the box and tucked it into her hair. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her sleepless nights showed from her red eyes and drooping lids, but she still quite liked the look of the rose. Her mind drifted to the ballroom Kaito prepared for her and in spite of the tears beginning to form, she drew some happiness remembering the feeling of strength he gave her as they glided across the dance floor….

Miku took a deep breath, shattering the memory. She tapped the rose one last time before leaving to start her chores again. 'For good luck,' she thought to herself.

* * *

><p>"There she is!" "She's going behind those houses! We can totally ask her now…"<p>

A pair of suspicious bushes near the edge of the village sported a tall white bow in one and a few spikes of blonde hair out of the other. The Kagamine twins were on the hunt for answers, and they'd been chasing Miku around all day, just out of her sight, waiting for her to finish her mail route. "Look!" the bush with the bow spoke, "Look at that rose she's wearing!"

The blonde bush shook with excitement. "Only one place she could have gotten that…"

The bowed bush appeared to swoon. "And only one reason she'd wear it…"

As Len emerged from the blonde bush, he rolled his eyes. "You and your mushy romances," he gagged.

Ever since Miku had turned up in the middle of the night in a glamorous ball gown without any sign of riding back on her horse, Len and his sister knew that somehow, her story would involve their favorite subject of discussion. And their mutual secret. But they also knew Miku had her reasons for keeping him a secret from the rest of the village. Hence they needed care in approaching her where nobody could hear.

Rin popped out of the bush with the bow and pointed the direction for Len to take. The blonde boy nodded his approval – the pair had already decided they'd just repeat their previous strategy and block out her route of escape. She'd have to answer if they caught her in a pincer formation… Len couldn't wait to get the truth out of her…

Len leapt forward, drawing Miku's attention first. "Len!" she protested, "What are you doing?!"

Following her twin's lead, Rin ran up from behind Miku. "Aha!" she crowed, "Now you gotta tell us everything!"

Len grinned at his now far more alert twin-tailed victim. "Come on Miku! We're on to you!" he said, putting his hands on his hips and staring her down, "You spent all winter with the Demon Prince, didn't you?!"

A sudden shift in Miku's expression made Len begin to worry. Was she… about to cry? Before he could gesture to Rin to stop, though, the other twin barreled forward. "What's he really like? What's his name?" she asked, "Is he your boyfriend now?!"

Wrong question. Upon hearing the word "boyfriend," Miku's face went from nearly dead to heart-broken. "He's… he's…" she whimpered.

She didn't get another word out before she began crying, wailing like she were a child all over again. Len realized far too late that Miku might have been holding this one in all week from how painful her sobbing was – both in intensity and in volume. "Holy crap…" he muttered, "Rin… I think he _**is**_ her boyfriend!"

"By the spirits, what did the two of you _**do?!**__"_

Len felt a thump on the back of his head. "AH! Big Sis, Rin's the one that made her cry!" the boy protested.

Meiko glared down at him. "Oh, and I suppose you were just innocently watching?!" she accused him, "I know you were part of it!"

The older brunette shook her head, approaching the sobbing Miku with an understanding look. Putting her hands on the girl's shoulders, "Big Sis" turned her to face her. "Hey… Miku, it's okay…" she said in her most soothing voice, "Sorry these two are bothering you with all this nonsense when you're so broken up…"

Miku started to calm down. "I… I just… I c… can't…" she hiccupped, not able to utter a single coherent sentence.

"Meiko! You don't understand!" Rin interjected, "Miku's upset because she was dating the Demon Prince!"

"Oh for crying out loud, why would you say something like that to her?!"

Meiko released Miku and started to march over to Rin, hellfire in the brunette's brown eyes. "Can't you see she had her heart broken?" she shouted, gesturing to the still-sniffling Miku, "Miku falls in love with a nice guy and you have the gall to call him a Demon Prince? We all know there's no such thing as a Demon Prince!"

Miku's eyes widened and she began another round of wailing. "What?!" Meiko exclaimed in shock, "What did I say now?!"

* * *

><p>By the time her friends had managed to calm her down and get her tell them about the "Demon Prince", the sun had already begun to set. Though Miku managed to stay strong the rest of the week in keeping Kaito's secret, her heart could take the isolation no longer. As difficult as relating the entire story about her winter remained, with several pauses as she composed herself again, she felt somewhat relieved. She knew she could trust her friends to not try to hurt Kaito or betray him to those who would…<p>

"And… and then after he chased me out…" Miku sniffled, "I came straight home."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Meiko take a huge swig from her personal flask. The older girl's cheeks were a flushed red. Meiko had been at her flask pretty much since learning the Demon Prince was real. "Well… that's going to take some getting used to…" she muttered, "Demon Prinsh ain't a girl eater, he's a gardner."

Len huffed. "What a letdown," he muttered.

Miku rested her head in her hands. "I just don't know what to do anymore…" she admitted, "I can't stop thinking about him, but… he hates me…"

Rin looked about ready to cry herself. "Poor Miku…" she sniffled, "Kaito sounded like such a kind person. Ohhh… but now you've been driven apart by the cruel blows of fate!"

"I don't care if everyone thinks I'm crazy…" Miku said quietly, "Right now… I feel like I can't even go back to my old life anymore without him being a part of it."

Rin clutched her arms to her side. "Oh, Miku…" she said, sounding sympathetic, "You still love him… don't you?"

At those words, Miku felt her tears returning as her answer became stuck in her throat. She knew the truth in her heart… she just had trouble saying it. "… even if he hates me forever… I… I still love him…" she said, finally letting the truth tumble out.

"Hmph. After all that, you fell for that show he put on for you."

"LEN!" Meiko barked, "You shouldn't be talkin' to her like that!"

Len brushed his bangs out of his face. "Come on, you need a little manly perspective!" he said, a cocky grin on his face, "Let a _veteran_ storyteller fill you in!"

Wiping away the fresh tears, Miku looked over at the blonde boy. All the while as she grew up, he'd teased her with stories about the Demon Prince, trying to make her cry. Yet… if he hadn't told her any stories about the Demon Prince, there was a chance she might not have even met Kaito. A wooded over forest path would have been quite boring if it didn't have the promise of the true resolution to a fairy tale on the other side…

Len waved a finger around. "So seriously, this guy spends all that time trying to sweeten you up," he explained, "Gives you gifts, plays the piano for you, sings duets with you, throws a ball with you…"

He shook his head quickly. "And then he just suddenly doesn't want you around anymore, when you JUST told him the one thing he obviously wanted you to tell him?!"

Miku swallowed. It's not that she hadn't noticed the discrepancy in Kaito's behavior… "I thought maybe I just pushed him too hard and…"

"No, there's a reason, but it ain't you," Len interrupted, "Something happened to him and he thought he _had_ to get rid of you. And he pulled that 'tough guy' act so you'd definitely leave without asking questions."

Rin clapped her hands together. "You're right!" she enthused, "Maybe Kaito was trying to protect you and he just couldn't say why!"

Miku glanced over at Meiko, who finished another swig of her flask. The brunette was nodding. "You know what, Len?" she said, "For once, you're right about something. Wasn't this guy supposed to be under a fairy's curse or something?!"

"I…I never wanted to ask him," she confessed, "He didn't like to talk about his past and I… I didn't want to bring up something painful…"

She bit her lip. "By the end I didn't even care…" she admitted, "Kaito is Kaito. No matter what he is, or what happened to make him what he is."

"Well that's all nice and stuff, but that doesn't mean he's thinking of it like that," Len said, "Maybe he thought you could break that curse on him and he freaked out when nothing happened!"

"Yea… yea!" Rin had stars in her eyes now that her imagination was turning, "Ohhhh, maybe he was trying to chase you off because he didn't want you to throw your life away! He sacrificed true love so you could be happy with a human!"

The little blonde girl let out a dreamy sigh, the tips of her fingers pressed upon her cheeks. "He sounds so ro-man-tic!"

"But I don't WANT a human!" Miku protested, "I want Kaito!"

"Wait, wait, maybe that fairy chick came back!" Meiko interjected, waving her fingers around. "Yea yea, and he chased you off because he didn't want her putting spells on ya!"

'The fairy…' All that time Miku had stayed in the Demon Prince's castle, being coached about good spirits and enchantments… and Miku never thought about the idea that the fairy that supposedly cursed Kaito could have been lurking around the entire time. If Kaito really _was_ under a curse… she'd never worked up the courage to ask him if there was a way to lift it. "Len, do any of your stories ever say how the Demon Prince was supposed to break his curse?" she asked, "You always cut straight to the 'gobbles up girls' part."

Len looked deep in thought. "There's a lot of stories about that guy," he said, "I got most of mine from Gran when she was still around. How'd it go…"

The boy's eyes closed as he fell silent for a few moments, sifting through the no doubt hundreds of tales swimming in his head. "…until one loves you as truly as I," he finally said.

'Until one loves you as truly as I,' Miku thought to herself.

"…he thinks I don't love him…" Miku said out loud. Her voice sounded sadder. "So… I guess… I wasn't strong enough to help him…"

Her heart ached as she tried to imagine how Kaito must have felt, finally hearing her tell him that she loved him, only to remain unchanged. Most people would never have to worry about questioning another's trust in them – they could judge them based on their own faith. But for Kaito…

"Oh c'mon, Miku, this ain't like you!"

Meiko slammed the bench so hard Miku almost got tossed off. She leaned in close enough that Miku could almost smell the wine on her breath. The intensity in her eyes bore deeply into the pigtailed girl and she leaned back a little.

"You gonna let some crazy fairy stand between you and your guy?!" Meiko scolded, "You're the girl that wouldn't shut up about being some Diva and landin' a prince. Well, now you got yerself a Prince just waiting for you and you're too scared to fight for him?"

When she slammed the bench this time, the Kagamines jumped from the cracking sound. Miku wondered how Meiko didn't have dozens of splinters embedded in her hand. "Even if there's a hundred crazy faeries, it ain't the Miku we know to just give up and cry! You could probably take em' all down with your bare fists!"

As Meiko started making punching motions in the air, Len squatted down to be eye level with the sitting Miku. "We don't actually know if _any_ of this is true," he said, "It's just stories, you know? But you're not going to know for sure if you give up on him now…"

Rin started cheering. "Yea, Miku! Fight for your love! There's no way you're not strong to get Kaito back!"

Miku stood up, wiping the tears out of her eyes. Her friends were right. No matter what Kaito was up against… she had to at least tell him she was willing to stand by him. Everything after that… was up to him.

"Coursh the bridge ish still out…" Meiko added.

Len almost fell over. "Why didn't you say that FIRST?!"

Miku shook her head. "It's fine," she said, "I won't need to worry about something like a bridge anyway."

She turned to her friends and smiled for the first time in days. "I'll find a way! I won't give up on him! Just… keep this between us, okay?!"

With those words and a determined heart, Miku tore away back home. It would be dark soon, but she didn't need to care about that. She would be back in Kaito's home in mere minutes anyway. She bolted up the stairs, past her surprised father, and slammed the door to her room behind her. She spied the mirror on her dresser and clutched it tightly.

"Magic Mirror!" she shouted, "Take me back to the castle!"

At once the room filled with a brilliant light. Miku felt herself lifting off the ground as the magic began to pull her away. A loud cracking sound filled the air – Miku looked at the mirror and her eyes went wide as she saw cracks beginning to form in the glass.

A small explosion filled the room as Miku was tossed like a ragdoll, slamming into the side of her bed. She hit it with such force that one of the pillows fell off and landed at her side. "What…what happened?!" Miku grumbled.

As Miku spotted the numerous shards of broken glass around her room and the cracked mirror lying on her floor, she felt her sense of hopelessness return. Now she'd have to wait until the end of winter to find her beloved again… to tell him everything in her heart… and who knew what would happen between now and then?

"Now don't tell me after all that bluster you're going to let a little thing like a broken mirror stop you?!"

Miku heard an unfamiliar male voice speaking to her. She slowly turned to face the entrance to her room, where leaning upon the door was the same purple-haired man she'd seen in her room a week ago. "You! The burglar!" she shouted.

Without another word, Miku grabbed the pillow at her side and hurled it at the stranger with all her might. Unlike last time, he caught the soft projectile effortlessly. He clicked his tongue at her, smirking in amusement. "What have pillows ever done to you?"

Now that Miku had a better look at the stranger, the long robe he wore, the strange wooden shoes, and especially the long sword at his side, she knew who he _really_ was. "You're… you're the Dancing Samurai! You're real!"

The samurai looked unmoved by her words. His amusement faded, replaced by a deathly serious expression. Before Miku could pepper him with questions, he silenced her with one of his own."Do you truly love my Master? Prince Kaito?"

"Of course I do!" Miku answered unhesitatingly, "No matter what he is, or what happened to MAKE him what he is! I love him with all my heart and I'm not going to give up on him!"

The samurai looked thoughtful. "How could there possibly be a truer love than this?" he asked quietly.

He looked straight to Miku, extending a hand to help her back to her feet. "If you love the Prince as you say, then you need to come with me right now. We have little time to stop him from making a tragic mistake..."

* * *

><p>AN:

Oh my that's another cliffhanger, but a bit more hopeful than the last one. Gakupo and Miku, dashing to Kaito's side… what awaits them now?!

This is by far the longest chapter in the story. Kinda got away from me, but I didn't want to split this into two and make you guys wait another week on the resolution. Just two more chapters, oh my god!

One of the oldest and lengthiest tellings of Beauty and the Beast is by Madam de Villeneuve, who provided a massive backstory for both of the main characters. The relevant parts I kept are that the Prince had a mother that kept leaving him to go to war, and that the Prince became a Beast because he rejected the romantic overtures of the fairy. I kind of liked the idea of exploring a scenario where the fairy and the Prince were friendly – and the fairy might not have started out an evil person. In the Villeneuve novel, the fairy is ugly and the story seems to think the Prince was in fact right to reject her because ewww, ugly! Obviously I cannot cast Luka as the fairy and even remotely describe her as ugly and besides, that doesn't really make Kaito terribly sympathetic does it? I debated for a long time even writing how the exchange that led to Kaito's downfall would happen – I feared Luka coming across as too much of a mustache-twirling baddie if I didn't get her dialog and actions _exactly_ right.

Trying to find a duet for Kaito and Luka was so hard. They don't have a lot, period. I finally settled on "Tsugai Kogarashi" as the sole song of the chapter because I liked the idea that Kaito learned a song from Gakupo and then started to teach it to Luka. Even it means stomping on one of Meiko's signature duets (sorry Meiko, have some more booze to make up for it.)


	9. Chapter 9: The Sacrifice

**Chapter 9: The Sacrifice**

Miku's footsteps as she bolted down the stairs thundered throughout the house. Her eyes on the front door, she had only one thought on her mind – she needed to return to Kaito at once. But before she made it out of the house, her father blocked her path with his body, his eyes filled with worry and fear. "Miku, what in the world is going on?!"

"Oh! Papa, I… this is… uh…"

Miku's eyes shifted to the tall samurai standing just behind her, looking rather bored at the proceedings. "He can't see or hear me," he explained, sounding bored.

Miku squeaked – in her hurry to depart for the castle again, she'd only bothered to get the samurai's name, Gakupo. At the first mention he gave of Kaito being in some kind of danger, she didn't care to stop and chat or even find out what she needed to save him from. Her eyes returned to her father as she tried to pretend she was standing alone. The old man looked all the more worried at her strange behavior. "First I heard some kind of a bang up there, then you started shouting at someone… is there a person up there?!"

This time Miku shook her head so fast her pigtails whipped into Gakupo, who took a few steps backwards on the steps. "Nobody's up there!" she said, "And I just dropped a mirror, that's what all the noise was!"

She began to push her way past her father. "I'm going out for a ride, okay?" she said, "I need some… ah… some time to myself!"

Though he began to clear the way for her, the look of concern on his face made her feel guilty. The entire week she'd been home with her father, the man that had spent weeks sick with worry over his missing child, she'd stayed almost entirely silent. In her defense, she really just didn't want to tell him about Kaito yet. Still… perhaps, when she got this business resolved… she'd figure out a way for the two of them to meet that wouldn't end poorly.

Miku gave her only living parent her most reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Papa," she said, "I'll come home safe and sound. I have a lot I need to tell you."

With that, Miku was off and running, Gakupo just behind her and staying largely silent. "You should have told me you were a ghost _first_, you know…" she muttered to him.

"You didn't ask."

This man could be _quite_ infuriating. "Argh… fine… anyway, I'll just grab the mail horse and we'll be off on our way and…"

"You do remember that you left _your_ horse at the castle, right?"

Miku stopped in her tracks. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed, "Then… I need to borrow a horse! Okay, so who else has one…?"

She started counting on her fingers. "Ah! Meiko!"

* * *

><p>Meiko stumbled towards her home. 'Definitely overdid it this time,' she thought, though at least now her surroundings weren't spinning around her.<p>

All she'd planned on doing was cheering up her friend Miku, especially after the girl's father seemed so worried about her. Simple, easy. Miku clearly had a winter fling with some young man and it fell apart. This was the easy stuff for "Big Sis."

Except for the minor problem that Miku's mystery lover turned out to not even be human, but the legendary "Demon Prince" himself. Around that point, Meiko knew it was time for some "liquid courage." But she might have had too much courage at once…

"Meiko! Meikooooo!"

The brunette turned to see Miku racing towards her. "Heya Miku, you find your 'Prince' yet?" Meiko asked, her voice slurring far less now.

Miku clasped her hands and bowed her head. "Meiko, I'm sorry to ask on such short notice, but I need a horse! Can I borrow the winery's horse?!"

So Miku really did into to ride off into the woods and reconcile with her demon boyfriend. Riding off into the night into certain danger… logically, the responsible action would have been to talk Miku out of it entirely. This "Kaito" person sounded as if he were surrounded by all kinds of unseen dangers.

Fortunately, Meiko was far too invested in her friend's happiness to let things like "logic" get in her way. She gave Miku a broad thumbs up. "You know what you gotta do, Miku! You go and get him!"

Miku clapped her hands for joy. "Meiko, thank you so much!"

As she skipped away, Meiko thought, just for a moment, that she'd seen another person with Miku. At which point she resolved to go home and sleep off her afternoon haze…

Miku began her ride out of the village post-haste, the samurai sharing the horse with her. As she galloped towards the gates, she blew past her dear friends Rin and Len.

"Oh my god, Miku! She's going to do it!" Rin shouted, "Go Miku!"

"Yea, Miku! You don't take no for an answer!" Len cheered.

She waved to them in excitement. No doubt once she got back together with Kaito again, they'd be eager to meet the famed "Demon Prince" in person. She could only imagine how exhausted he'd get having to answer all of their questions…

Soon the twins were out of sight and Miku only had the forest road and Gakupo. "So…you're going to tell me why they couldn't see you and I can, right?" she asked her largely silent companion.

She'd deliberately not spoken to Gakupo in the village once he'd informed her of his state of being. Likely out of respect for her circumstance, he'd stayed quiet – not wanting to distract her. Though he had commented on the obvious lack of sobriety of her friend.

"Just as my lord, Prince Kaito, is trapped in that monstrous form by a curse, I myself am under its wretched power," he explained, "I've spent the last hundred years at his side, nothing more than a ghost to all but he… until you that is."

"A hundred YEARS?!" Miku exclaimed, "Kaito's… so much older than I expected…"

She knew from the state of his home that he'd been there for some time, but to imagine that he'd lived so long before she'd even been born… 'Wait, hold on a sec… 'by his side…'

"Just how many times were you listening in on us?! Or… or in my room?!"

The samurai laughed. "We needn't worry about such trivialities right now," he spoke, "Besides, I already overheard your lot telling stories about curses anyway… I'm surprised the tales were so close to the truth!"

So he'd spied on her in Melodia as well. Before she could respond, he provided her with an answer to her unspoken question. "I apologize for spying on you before, but I needed to confirm for myself how you felt for him. Hearing you declare it to your dearest friends, without any concern for how they'd think of you… well, I certainly don't doubt your sincerity at this point."

Miku ducked as a tree branch nearly smacked her in the face. So Gakupo had been obsessed with the idea of "true love" as well. "Gakupo," Miku asked, gripping the horse tightly, "It really is true love, isn't it? To break Kaito's curse?"

"_Until one loves you as truly as I."_

Gakupo chose the exact phrasing that Len had used from the tale. "Then… why didn't it break when I told him I love him?! What in the world else do I have to do to prove it?!"

"If you straight up told him you loved him and nothing changed… well, I supposed I understand my Lord's rather dramatic affliction of melancholy and poor decisions," the samurai quipped.

"He must think that I don't love him at all…" Miku said sadly, "I wasn't strong enough to help him…"

"Nonsense!" Gakupo scoffed, "The only reason Prince Kaito thinks you rejected him is because of that awful fairy spewing envenomed words and doubts into his ear!"

The fairy… so she was real as well. "She was at the castle?" Miku asked.

"Her name is Luka Megurine," Gakupo explained, "She's the one responsible for all of this. And frankly, after the offer she made my master after you left, I wouldn't be terribly surprised to find out she tried to craft a nearly impossible curse to take my Lord by force!"

So the woman who hurt Kaito had a name. And she was _still_ tormenting him, even after so much time had passed. Wait…

"She's in love with him?!" Miku asked.

"If you could call what she's done love…" Gakupo scoffed again, "All of this started when she confessed to him… and my Lord declined. He trusted her as a friend… and see what that got him…"

"…so Kaito was innocent all along…" Miku murmured.

The ride grew silent for a few moments, the only sound the beating of hooves on dirt. "It's in our nature to believe that horrible circumstances only befall those who deserve them," Gakupo mused aloud, "But, my Lord has always been the same. Willing to sacrifice even his own happiness for another. I suspect he rejected Luka because he wanted her to find someone who loved her back… or because he felt he owed his kingdom more than he owed himself the right to personal happiness. Either way… for her to judge him as 'wicked' simply because he did not love her… I've never forgiven the fairies for allowing such a travesty to take place."

The stories always accused Kaito of some great crime – pride, cruelty, selfishness. Always, the Demon Prince's curse was the result of some horrible offense he'd committed against someone who justly punished him. Even towards the end of her stay with Kaito, even as she fell in love with him, she still expected at some point to learn that he was keeping a terrible secret. In the end, the only secret he kept was his shame. Shame at what he'd become.

"You must understand… all this time, Prince Kaito has suffered not only with his own fate, but the burden of others," Gakupo continued, "The day we both fell under Luka's spell, everyone in the kingdom vanished. Luka declared them 'guilty' of the same wickedness."

Miku's grip on the reigns tightened. She hadn't even _met_ this fairy yet, and she already despised her. But she also felt a sense of fear – if Luka was such a powerful creature that she could make an entire kingdom disappear, what hope did Miku have of dealing with her should the fairy appear again? Yet… if Gakupo was riding with her, speaking to her now… somehow _he_ escaped…

As if reading her mind, Gakupo provided an answer. "The only reason I didn't disappear with the rest of the people of Shion is because I used every ounce of my strength to forge a bond of faith with the Prince. It wasn't perfect – I'm not technically alive right now… but it allowed me to stay by his side all this time and support him when he needed it."

So all this time, Miku thought Kaito had lived entirely alone, inventing stories about an imaginary person to try and comfort himself in isolation. In truth, he'd never claimed to live alone – he'd claimed many actions the results of spirits. Now she understood that Gakupo had been that "good spirit" that kept the both of them safe. All of those "Dancing Samurai" stories… every one of them was true. In spite of her worries for Kaito's safety… she was grateful to know that all those times he'd been in danger or lonely, he had a steadfast friend.

"Gakupo… I'm glad Kaito had someone as loyal as you by his side… so he wasn't completely alone…"

The samurai fell silent for a few moments – perhaps he wasn't used to such recognition after so long spent unacknowledged. "Still… how come I can see you now?" Miku asked, trying to break his silence.

Questions of their current task seemed to draw Gakupo back out of his contemplative reverie. "I've theorized that perhaps those times you DID see me, you'd begun to forge a similar connection to him as well…"

As Miku realized what _her_ "connection" to Kaito was, she grew embarrassed. "To be honest, I took this gamble to come and find you because I'd hoped if you DID truly love him, maybe I'd be able to break through to you…"

"So… you think I could still break this curse because I've been able to break through yours?" Miku asked, "Is that going to be enough for Kaito though? I told you… I love him more than I can say… I meant everything I told him at the party, but nothing changed… maybe Luka's too strong or… or…"

"Miku…" Gakupo said, "For the time being, don't worry about fairies or curses. The only thing you need to worry about is Prince Kaito. Luka offered him a chance to leave this world with her forever… she is coming for his answer at the midnight hour. If he departs with her, I can assure you his curse will _never_ break."

"What?! Why didn't you lead with that, when you were telling me he in danger?!" Miku asked frantically, "We're just barely going to make it and I thought Meiko said the bridge was still out!"

The samurai let out another rich laugh. 'What is with this guy that he finds these events so amusing!?' Miku thought to herself.

"Don't worry too much about that bridge."

* * *

><p>As Kaito walked down the steps into the moonlit garden, his decision seemed quite clear. Tonight, he would allow himself to be taken away by Luka and never come home. In a few short hours… everything would be over.<p>

He tried to take in the sight of the roses one last time. Clad in the same white and blue uniform he'd worn the day his life changed, he knew Luka would understand why he wanted to meet her in the enchanted gardens before they left. Even if he'd never truly be a Prince again, he wished to appear just one more time as close to the person he used to be before he departed the Earth for good.

Out of habit, he approached one of the blue rose bushes and started to examine the state of the blossoms. They showed no imperfections – a sign of his unceasing care of them for the past hundred years. Maybe he'd hoped that his loyalty might grant him a reprieve from his curse. Or maybe he just felt satisfied that for all the mistakes he'd made, for all the things he'd destroyed and lost… he'd successfully kept the only remaining glory of his kingdom alive and well.

"I wonder what will happen to you when I go…" he mused aloud, "Will all these flowers die when I'm not here to care for them?"

Touching the soft petals, he imagined that with his departure, this magnificent garden would wither away. The castle that had just been restored to splendor would crumble apart. The trees would overtake what remained and no soul would ever remember the once magnificent kingdom of Shion or the people who lived there.

'Dead and forgotten…'

Something about that train of thought set off a spark inside of Kaito's heart. In spite of the results of his attempt to win Miku's true love, he had accomplished so much in trying to rebuild his home. He'd regained something of his old self – he'd even learned that he still had the ability to control music. And after all those years of waiting, he'd convinced someone that he wasn't the monster the world believed him to be. Could he truly throw all of that away, when he'd proven how close he could come to breaking the dreaded curse? If Gakupo was still out there somewhere, could he truly leave his dearest, truest friend to a fate of wandering the earth as nothing more than a specter, forever condemned to spy on a world he could never rejoin?

Suddenly, Kaito found his "clear decision" far less inviting. As tempting as it seemed when he was still consumed entirely by sorrow, he could not bring himself to abandon his efforts. His home may be a prison, but it was still a home he wanted to fight for – even if it meant Miku would not be part of his life.

'Hmph… after all that hand wringing the last week… it just feels so simple now…' he thought to himself, 'Maybe I just needed time…'

The real question was… would he be able to say all of that to Luka and successfully send her on her way? Or would she find a way to convince him in spite of everything that he would be better off abandoning his old home for an eternity as her reluctant lover? Worse… he already knew her response to rejections could be devastating. She might not be able to curse him again… but he feared if she found some other leverage.

'No!' he swore to himself, his newfound bravery urging him on, 'I won't give up on this! It's not just about me! It's about…'

Kaito's vision began to waver as his steps became more uneven. 'It's about…'

Kaito stumbled as he tried to remember the last time he'd properly eaten or slept when he felt his legs completely give out from under him. As his body collapsed into the dirt and grass, the prince's world was swallowed by black…

"Okay, you said not to worry about the bridge," Miku said, "But that's clearly not a bridge this horse can get over."

Gakupo hopped from the back of the horse and walked to the edge of the gorge, seemingly unconcerned. "Now, why would you say that?" he asked, "You have no idea how much time it took me to rig this up. Why do you think it took me a week to find you?"

Miku climbed down from her horse as well and walked over to the broken bridge to inspect it for herself. True, there was a crude patchwork repair consisting of various tree trunks strung together. But how was she supposed to cross it herself? She didn't think she could keep her balance that long over such a deep gorge. And certainly not with the speed she'd need to reach Kaito before Luka did…

She felt Gakupo's hand on her shoulder. "This is our only way to the Prince," he said, "You said you'd do _**anything**_, right?"

Miku nodded slowly, but now she was nervous about what she'd agreed to. Before she could think long on that, Gakupo swept her up into his arms. "Wait!" the girl protested, but he took no heed as he jumped from the side of the gorge. Miku let out a scream as she thought she was doomed, but with perfect timing, Gakupo landed on each and every single log. To the perfectly agile samurai, this cobbled together path was all he needed.

As he alighted on the other side, he released the trembling Miku from his arms. "Warn me next time you're going to do that!" she demanded.

"We're not far now," Gakupo said, "but we must make haste. The hour fast approaches."

As her thoughts of Kaito returned, the maiden began a dead run down the trail to the castle. As she focused every bit of her energy into keeping up her run, the conversation between herself and Gakupo had ceased. But as Miku finally spied the familiar silhouette of the castle in the trees, the pain in her legs, the burning in her lungs, they all meant nothing for she would soon be with Kaito again.

But only if she hurried. "Where… where could he be?!" Miku gasped out, "We don't have much time and the castle…"

She tried to catch her breath. She observed her companion seemed completely unfazed by the distance he was running. 'I guess ghosts can't get tired,' she thought enviously.

"Frankly, you might know better," the samurai stated, "We could split up though."

Miku rapidly thought of all the places Kaito might be spending his last night. She remembered all the stories he'd told her about the Fair Folk. In particular, of why his rose garden perpetually bloomed…

"I… I think I can guess!"

Gakupo smiled at her. "Then lead the way!"

* * *

><p>Miku thought her heart was going to explode from her exertion until finally she spied those preciously tended hedges and flowers. She hoped she'd guessed right. "Kaito!" she shouted, "Kaito, where are you?!"<p>

No answer. Now fear began to push her further as she sprinted through the gate, scanning every path for a sign of the man she'd come so far to find. What if she'd gone to the wrong place? What if she was too late and she'd lost her chance to see him again? As she neared the entrance towards the castle, she finally spotted his unconscious body lying in the dirt.

"KAITO!" Miku screamed, rushing to his side, "Kaito, no! Please, be okay!"

She began tapping his hand as tears came to her eyes, "Kaito…oh no, please… don't be…"

Slowly, Kaito's eyes opened. "Miku…" he whispered.

As he seemed to regain his focus, he jumped up in surprise. "MIKU!" he shouted.

"You're alive!" Miku exclaimed.

Kaito grabbed at his head, looking like he was going to pass out again. The prince focused his eyes on the samurai that arrived with Miku. "Gakupo…" he said, smiling, "You came back… you both came back…"

As he watched Kaito struggle to steady himself, Gakupo raised an eyebrow. "My Lord, should I ask when the last time was you ate?"

Kaito finally leaned against a piece of fence to stay on his feet. "I don't remember."

The samurai let out a sigh. "And when you last _**slept**_?"

"…I don't remember."

As Kaito tried to stand, Miku swallowed and summoned all of her courage. "Kaito…I have a lot I need to say…" Miku said softly, her hands clutched together as tight as her nerves, "But I'll start with this – I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to break your curse."

Kaito turned away from her, gripping the fence post tightly as he continued to regain strength after his fainting spell. "So… he told you everything," he said softly. He didn't sound angry or accusatory… just weary.

"Only what she hadn't figured out on her own," Gakupo drawled, "Turns out the 'Demon Prince' is a lot more famous than we realized."

His secret exposed, Kaito remained silent and Miku began to approach him. She tried to get close enough to see his face again. "I don't know what I'm going to have to do to help you," Miku said, trying to control her voice, "but... I really meant what I said to you before. Kaito, I love you."

She took a few steps closer, trying to get to his side and look up into his face. "I don't know why it isn't powerful enough to help you, but I'm willing to stay as long as it takes until it does!"

She clutched her folded hands close to her heart. "This past week, trying to go on without you was miserable," she admitted, "I couldn't sing… or play the piano… all I could think about was how much we shared together and how much I missed you… and I kept worrying about you, being in this big castle all alone…"

Finally, Miku reached his side. Though she couldn't quite make out his expression, she saw the tension in his face. "I can't live without you anymore," she admitted.

"You shouldn't throw your life away like this," Kaito said quietly, "You were going to Arlisia… you were going to become a diva… you were going to find your 'Prince' and-"

"I don't want a Prince!" Miku interrupted, "I want YOU!"

Kaito seemed taken aback by the strength of her words. "And…don't ever make that choice for me, you understand!? I have the right to make my own choices about what to do with the rest of my life!"

She tried to meet Kaito's eyes. "Kaito… those aren't just _my_ dreams anymore… if I went away to Arlisia… if I really made it over there… it would have been just as much your doing as mine…"

Finally, she wrapped up her speech, hoping she'd finally broken through his wall of doubts and fears. "Kaito… my dreams don't mean anything to me anymore… if I can't share them with the person I love."

The Demon Prince continued his silence, still looking away from Miku as he seemed to mull over her impassioned confession. Finally, he moved to speak and Miku held her breath awaiting his answer.

"I… I can't…"

Her heart sank…

* * *

><p>Kaito still couldn't quite grasp why Miku was in front of him now. After the horrible things he'd said to her… he thought she'd never want to see him again. That had been the <em>point <em>after all. Yet here she was, professing the same feelings for him she'd claimed to possess only a week ago. He could still hear Luka's voice whispering in his ears, swearing the girl's love to be false. _'If she truly loved you, you would be human again.'_

And yet…

"…I can't keep lying to you."

Kaito finally released the fence, looking into the face of someone he loved that professed to love him in return, wondering how he could continue to doubt her. Curse be damned, not a soul had confessed to him so sincerely as she – and after he'd _rejected_ her no less! He didn't know what the "true love" that would break the spell over him was supposed to be… but for the moment, he simply wished to believe in Miku's feelings for him no matter what his form.

"From the first time I saw you, I couldn't get you out of my head. I spent months wishing I could have found some way to talk to you… but I felt sure I'd never see you again."

Now that he was talking so freely, he couldn't stop. The dam in his heart began to leak as his true emotions finally flooded through. "But one snowy day, you came back... And this time… this time you stayed."

"…I almost killed you…" Miku said, staring up at him in guilt, "You could have drowned…"

Kaito shook his head. "You saved my life too, remember?" he continued, "It was worth the risk, honestly. Because every day this winter was full of life and joy, just because you were here. All I could think about was… how much I wished you'd never go home."

Miku laughed, the hints of happy tears at the corners of her eyes. She leapt forward and embraced Kaito tightly. This time, he returned her embrace without hesitation, grateful to feel her so close after he'd resigned himself to never seeing her again. "When you said you loved me… I thought it was finally over," he confessed, "I'd become human again... I could finally be someone worthy of your love… I'd be your 'Prince'…"

As he felt Miku's grip on him tighten, he bent down slightly and kissed the top of her forehead.

"Everything I said to you… those awful things… I'm so sorry for them, every one of them… I truly believed that you didn't love me and I… I couldn't make you suffer… I just wanted you to get away from 'The Demon Prince' and go be happy…"

"Kaito… I'd never be unhappy as long as I have you…" Miku whispered, her head resting on his chest as Kaito stroked the back of her head. Kaito's eyes remained fixed upon a single rose embedded in her hair. His unintentional token.

"Miku… I don't deserve you… but if you've made up your mind that this is what you want…"

Miku pulled her head back slightly and stared into his eyes and he tried to gather some measure of strength from her.

"…Miku, I love you too."

And with those words, the Demon Prince leaned forward and kissed the maiden who refused to leave his side. He'd finally confessed his heart to her. Even in spite of how hopeless his curse appeared, he felt as though with Miku lending him her love and courage, somehow… they'd learn what "true love" was and he'd finally become the man she deserved. But right now… all he cared about was that in spite of everything… no matter what his face… he was the man she _loved._

* * *

><p>Despite how weak he was, Kaito's grip on Miku felt unbreakable – as if he was afraid to lose Miku yet again. Miku felt the same – so many dangerous things would try to drive them apart. She knew she'd have to fight for him. But… he was the man she loved. They'd figure something out.<p>

For a few moments after they parted from their kiss, they said nothing, Miku squeezing Kaito so tightly she could hear his heartbeat, Kaito stroking her hair. The two began to part just enough to stare into each other's eyes.

"So… I guess this means you're not leaving? For the Fairy Court?"

Kaito shook his head. "Actually…I'd already made up my mind not to go…" he admitted, "Even when I thought you didn't love me, I realized I still had too much to fight for to just give up on everything like that."

Kaito leaned close to her face and Miku began to move in to kiss him again, when she heard the swift gliding of metal as Gakupo unsheathed his sword. This got Kaito's attention as well, as he looked over her head… and then pulled Miku into a more protective embrace.

She turned to focus on the threat and saw a woman with long pink hair in a glamorous black and gold gown. The outraged look on her face made her shrink into Kaito's arms. As she observed her wings, she knew without anyone telling her that she was now staring into the furious gaze of Luka Megurine. Logically, she knew she would need to be very careful – this was the woman that cursed Kaito and Gakupo so horribly. But not so logically… she knew she was staring at the woman that kept hurting the man she loved. And she already hated her.

"I see you've made your choice, Prince."

Kaito's grip around Miku tightened, as though he were trying to shield the girl from whatever the fairy was planning. He was trying to strike a strong presence, but his panicked heart beat betrayed his true feelings to her. Deep down, something about Luka scared him. Perhaps he feared she would find another way to hurt him.

"Yes, he has, so you can turn around and go back to your accursed court!" Gakupo shouted, trying to place himself between the couple and the fairy.

"Oh, I don't intend to make the mistake of offering my kindness to this wicked man again…" Luka said, her anger barely suppressed in her voice, "This wouldn't be the first time he's lured me with honeyed words, only to discard my generous gifts when it suits him."

'Wicked?! How… how dare she!' Miku's hands gripped Kaito's jacket tightly as she clenched her teeth. She refused to believe anything of what Luka was accusing Kaito of… which only made her angrier. Was this why she'd cursed him in the first place!?

"Luka…" Kaito said, interrupting her speech, "Leave Miku out of this."

"To choose to keep this shiny bauble for himself instead of proving himself worthy of true love," Luka continued, "So selfish to let this poor deluded child cling to you simply because you like the look of her when you both should know she does not love you. Do you enjoy knowing how you make others suffer?!"

Miku thought back to what Kaito had confessed to her. '_I could finally be someone worthy of your love._' He'd been _afraid_ to confess his feelings to her – because of what Luka did to him. And she was still trying to undermine him, even now. When he'd finally worked up the courage to tell Miku the truth, make his choices, and try to carve out some slice of happiness in spite of the seemingly never-ending curse he suffered under… here she was trying to talk him back out of it!

Kaito's hold over Miku felt sturdy and strong – she understood now that she'd finally convinced him that even if his curse remained fast, he could still trust that her love for him was genuine. She believed in him as well – that whatever fears he still possessed, Luka could not convince them to part a second time. But the more Miku thought on Kaito's curse, the very curse the fairy was just now attempting to justify as the evidence of a moral failing on their parts… the angrier she got. This woman must know the _true_ reason Kaito remained trapped…

"You….you tell us the truth!" Miku shouted, losing herself, "Why can't I break Kaito's curse!? I love him with all my heart!"

As Luka's eyes settled on Miku, she felt gripped with fear. She'd never seen so much hatred in one person as saw in the fairy's furious gaze. Kaito pulled Miku closer, staring right into her eyes. "Miku!" he whispered, his eyes briefly giving away how frightened he truly was for her, "Don't upset her! You don't have any protection from her! She can't curse me or Gakupo again, but you're a normal human…"

Miku tried to calm herself in spite of Luka's cruel behavior. She trusted that Kaito and Gakupo would do everything in their power to protect her… but she didn't want to force them to endanger themselves. If the fairy simply sputtered in rage and left, all would be well…

"It's not a bad question…" Gakupo said, drawing Luka's attention away from her, "Frankly, it's impossible that Miku hasn't demonstrated more than enough capacity for love for my Master. Yet he remains under your power. Care to elaborate?"

"It should be obvious, should it not? Luka said sarcastically, "_She does not truly love him_. I cannot cast such magic that is impossible to break. It must be possible for the judged to meet the terms."

She glared at Kaito again. "This girl may swear whatever she wishes to you… it's plain to see that Prince Kaito has learned _nothing_ from the last hundred years if he intends to keep abusing this girl's confused heart."

Miku realized Luka wasn't going to answer her question, she was just hanging around insulting them. 'Fine, then, you awful fairy!' Miku thought to herself, 'I'll solve your riddle myself!' As she tried to think of what they had all gotten wrong, she thought back to what Len and Gakupo told her. They were both _very_ specific about the way it was worded…

_Until one loves you as truly as I._

Her face went pale. Miku began to realize what everyone involved had been missing and it made her sick as the implications hit her if she was right.

"The terms of the curse…" she said aloud, "Kaito stays like this until one loves him…as truly as you."

Luka's gaze returned to her. "That's what you said, right?"

The fairy appeared confused by Miku's question. "But of course… I do not see what reminding me of the conditions of my own spell are…"

"No…."

From the broken look on the samurai's face, Gakupo understood what Miku was implying. The truth… staring them plainly in the face all this time, ignored as they clung to an understandable misinterpretation. Neither Kaito nor Gakupo had reason to question their interpretation until now – until Miku, not a soul had attempted to confess to Kaito before. Their beliefs had only been challenged once, then carefully misled again from the right path by someone who intended to lure Kaito astray.

She looked into Kaito's face with sad eyes, but saw only confusion. He hadn't figured it out yet. She feared breaking him with the truth, but she couldn't hold back or Luka would continue to find ways to hurt him with the lie.

"Kaito can't break your curse. It's impossible."

The fairy's face twisted into anger. "How dare you accuse me of such treachery?!" Luka shouted, "I just told you that I – "

"…it doesn't matter… how much I love Kaito. Or anyone else."

Miku's anger burned as she stepped out of Kaito's arms, her fists balled up in rage, marching towards Luka with purpose. She mourned for Kaito, trapped so long under an awful enchantment, believing he couldn't free himself because he was unable to earn another's true love. All of his pain, all of his suffering, all of the isolation, the people trying to hurt him… all under the illusion that if he could just find that one person, he'd be free. Luka abusing his misplaced hopes to drive them apart, tricking him into believing he remained a monster because Miku didn't love him… that no one could love him…

"Anyone who truly loved him would want his happiness above all," Miku explained, her eyes tearing up, "They would give anything for him."

The fairy's snarl suddenly vanished, replaced by stunned shock. Clearly she'd realized what Miku was about to say, but appeared too surprised by the revelation to stop her. 'Did she _seriously_ cast her curse without even _thinking_ about what she'd said?!' Miku thought to herself – she couldn't decide if it was truly better or worse that the fairy might merely have been _thoughtless_ instead of openly malicious.

"But you... you set him in this horrible prison… you drove away everyone he loved… you turned him away from his own kind, made him an outcast… and when he finally found happiness, when he finally met someone who loves him, you tried to trick him into believing I was lying to him!"

Miku's voice rose with her accusation's intensity. "You just want to keep him for yourself, whether he's happy or not! Anyone as cruel and selfish as you would never get close enough to him to feel anything for him, let alone true love!"

She delivered the coup de grace. "Kaito will _never_ be able to break this curse because _you don't truly love him._"

* * *

><p>As Miku's tirade ended, Kaito found himself numb from the tragic revelation. No matter how hard he struggled… no matter how much Miku loved him… it never mattered as long as Luka was the source of the curse's standard for love. He was doomed to an eternity of being the Demon Prince... he would <em>never<em> see anyone in Shion again.

All of his struggles had been for _nothing._

Before he had much more time to react, he felt the crackling of magic in the air and saw Luka building power around her hands. "How… how dare a mortal accuse me of such injustice?!" she shouted, "Someone as brazen, as disrespectful as you… there's only _one_ way to make an example out of you!"

Reacting with his demon's reflexes, Kaito leapt forward to grab Miku and pull her out of the way. As he reached her and successfully yanked her from harm, he felt the searing heat of her magic passing dangerously close to his body. He realized Luka wasn't even casting curses now –she'd switched to magic that both he and Gakupo remained vulnerable to. "You can't protect her!" Luka shouted, "She'll die for such prideful behavior!"

Before Kaito could react again, he saw his faithful samurai jump between him and the fairy, holding out Miburi to try and drive her magic back. While the spell stopped, the impact nearly toppled over the powerful warrior right there.

"Run, my Lord!" Gakupo shouted, "Take that girl and don't come back!"

Kaito desperately wanted to ensure Gakupo's safety, but he understood the samurai intended to give them both time to escape. He prayed to the spirits that Luka's curse would also make Gakupo immune to her attempts to kill him. In seconds, Kaito had Miku scooped up in his arms and began a blind run out of the garden paths, using every bit of speed that he had to make his way out of Luka's line of fire.

A massive explosion sounded behind him. "Gakupo!" Miku cried out.

Kaito remained silent as he leapt over a hedge with Miku bundled close to him. The thought of Gakupo dying for him wracked him with guilt. If Luka had just torn through the mighty samurai… he had little time before she would find her true target. The Demon Prince needed a plan – he couldn't simply run blindly. He ducked behind a set of hedges and set down Miku for a moment as he tried to think of the best route to escape. He couldn't stay in the castle, Luka knew every inch of it… and she wouldn't just get tired…

"Kaito…" Miku said, her voice shaking, "I'm… I'm so sorry…"

"What for?" he asked.

"I made her so angry…" she said, beginning to cry.

He shook his head quickly. "No, Miku!" he asserted, "You did the right thing… you were so brave… and we should have figured this out so long ago…"

Sadness crept into his voice as his true fate hung over him. "I could have stopped wasting time being worried about being rejected by others…"

"But….Kaito… if I hadn't… Gakupo…"

Kaito drew Miku close, feeling her body shaking. "Miku…" he said softly, "Gakupo… is the Dancing Samurai. He wouldn't die like that."

He swallowed – his words may have only been reassuring to him, but he tried to approach the situation as his fallen friend would have. Gakupo always taught him to focus on trying to solve the challenges in front of him first. Right now, the challenge in front of Kaito was finding safety for Miku. "The best we can do is think of somewhere safe to go… where Gakupo can find us when she's gone…" he said, trying to sound much stronger in his words than he felt.

"Melodia!" Miku shouted, as if she'd just thought of it, "We should go to Melodia!"

"Your home?" Kaito asked. A human town… could he really be safe in a place like that? No… they'd attack him on sight… the most he could do was ensure Miku arrived safely, but he'd still need to stay close to ensure Luka didn't chase her down…

"Kaito, they're not like the people who hurt you in the past!" Miku continued, "I mean, I don't know about everyone, but… Len! Rin! Meiko! They're my friends, they know who you are, they all helped me get here tonight, and if you came back with me, they'd help me hide you!"

Anger swept across her face. "And if anyone tried to hurt you, I'd deal with them myself!"

Clearly some of Miku's bravery was returning. Kaito still wasn't sure what would happen if Miku's friends actually _met_ their feared "Demon Prince," but… better a small village like Melodia than Arlisia again… "All right Miku, I trust you. Let's go!"

* * *

><p>As Gakupo's body hit the ground, his sword fell from his hands. Luka towered over the accursed samurai. He was, at best, winded. She <em>could<em> kill him though, in his current state. But she decided against it. She needed to get to that horrible girl first.

Luka spread her wings and took to the air. There was no point in her trying to spot them from the ground. She hovered over the gardens, trying to make out the sign of them escaping.

How dare that girl accuse an immortal of such a crime. The terms she set were more than fair. And how _dare_ any mortal believe her incapable of loving him!? She wasn't worthy of a punishment – she only deserved to die for such insolence.

She finally spied the speedy blue blur flying out of the hedges. She guessed his trajectory and let loose with a pink bolt of magic, just in front of him. She didn't intend to hit him… only to make him drop the girl.

He attempted to dodge, but either he was too distracted or too weak as the shock flung him back. The girl tumbled out of his arms. Her time had come. She flew straight towards her, summoning a powerful wind of rose petals to trap her…

* * *

><p>As Miku hit the ground roughly, her first concern was Kaito. She'd felt his strength flag just before the bolt hit and remembered how weak he was when she'd found him. And he was pushing himself to get them both out of the castle in one piece.<p>

As she saw him struggling to stand up, she saw pink rose petals fluttering towards her. Suddenly, she felt a suffocating force, as if the wind itself was constricting around her. "Kai…Kaito!" she screamed, trying to call for help.

"He cannot save you."

Miku saw Luka alight in front of her. "For your crimes against the immortals… I sentence you to death…" she said, menace dripping from her voice.

Miku always knew better than to anger a fairy. She should have known better. And now… now she was going to die for it. But as she saw the cruelty in the face of the woman intending to kill her…she remained strangely defiant. She refused to give such a wicked creature the satisfaction of seeing Miku's fear when she died.

* * *

><p>Kaito saw Miku being constricted in place, screaming out to him. He saw Luka's hands glowing and he realized he had very little time for error or he would watch the woman he loved killed by the first true friend he'd ever made. He also realized what would happen if he tried to save her now.<p>

Without a second thought, he used every ounce of his unnatural strength to propel himself through the air. As he did so, he ensured he was completely shielding Miku as he grabbed ahold of her. As he pulled her close to him, he cried out as felt the impact of Luka's bolts slamming into his back.

Kaito had never imagined what such pain could feel like. As if his very soul was being torn asunder, a terrible force trying to rip it out of him in pieces. As he hit the ground, his grip on Miku slipped and she rolled out of his arms. He felt his life slipping out of him. But as his breaths slowed, as Miku crawled over to him in fear… only one thought remained in his mind as he stared into her eyes…

'I saved her… '

* * *

><p>"KAITOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"<p>

Miku pulled him close to her, trying to look for some signs that the powerful, unstoppable Demon Prince cheated death. "Kaito!" she begged, her tears flowing, "Kaito, please! Don't leave me! I can't live without you!"

His shallow, labored breaths gave away the extent of his injuries. Even as his final moments approached swiftly, Kaito still wore a soft, weak smile on his face. With a trembling hand, he reached up to touch her cheek and wipe her tears. Miku cradled his hand close, trying to deny the inevitable. "Miku…" he said, his voice barely above a whisper, "Become the world's most beautiful singer… and… f…find your Prince… Go get y…your dream…"

"No, Kaito, I told you…" she whimpered, "I don't want a prince…"

His breathing stopped and his hand slipped back to the ground. His body lay limp as his expression flattened. Kaito closed his eyes for the last time.

"… I want you…"

* * *

><p>Gakupo struggled to stay on his feet as he tried to run in the direction the fairy had flown off to. She'd failed to kill him – he'd ensure she'd regret that… somehow. He'd not let her harm someone as pure and brave as Miku…<p>

Then he heard Miku's screams. The samurai looked up and around him as the very plants and flowers shuddered around him. 'No!' he'd thought to himself, 'You idiot, you didn't…!'

Yet now he felt that same darkness that clawed at him so long ago reaching out to him. The samurai collapsed to the ground, Miburi falling to his side. In spite of his best efforts to summon every ounce of spirit he had to him… he could no longer fight that wretched force.

"… so be it…" he whispered, "My lord… I'm sorry."

Without seeing it happen, he understood what horrible act Luka Megurine had committed and what the repercussions were for him. He'd used his connection to his master to cheat his way out of the curse… a connection that could no longer exist.

Kaito, the Demon Prince, was dead.

Gakupo had failed to protect him.

He watched as his body faded before his eyes, but he no longer fought the abyss of non-existence. The noble samurai's only option after allowing a charge to die was an honorable suicide… this would have to suffice.

In a few moments, the Dancing Samurai ceased to exist, consumed by the endless mist.

* * *

><p>Luka still stood still, shock in her face, her hand outstretched in the same position she'd used to cast the killing spell. "Why…?" she whispered under her breath.<p>

She hadn't meant to hurt him. She'd clearly intended to kill only Miku for her crimes. And yet… she drew her hands close, the hands that had taken life from the man she loved. Prince Kaito… she had killed Prince Kaito…

She watched as Miku sobbed over his body, begging him to somehow reawaken. A mortal's foolish, desperate pleas against the inevitable. Yet as Luka touched a hand to her face, she felt dampness under her own eyes as well.

For the first time in her life… the immortal Luka cried.

* * *

><p>AN:

So if you're reading this on its initial release date, Merry Christmas! Your present is… a dead Kaito! Here, I'll stick a bow on him and everything!

So pat yourself on the back if you figured out the trick to the curse before Miku did. Double pat yourself if you figured out I was going to be evil enough to pull out one more dramatic tear jerking cliffhanger in the penultimate chapter. I did enjoy seeing some of you guys guess why Kaito's curse was sticking around – a few of you got it right away, but I was happy that there was some variety instead of just an inbox of everyone guessing the right thing all at once. You folks are creative!

So in most of the tales, the Beauty leaves the Beast for some reason, and he gives her the means to go home and a promise to return in seven days or he will die of a broken heart. Naturally, Beauty ends up overstaying and when she makes a late return to the castle, she finds the Beast dying in the rose garden.

I kept Kaito passing out… and Kaito dying. Luka giving Kaito seven days to make up his mind was another nod to this plot point.

One chapter left, and I'm rather sad to see the end of this journey already. Everyone who ever fav'd, watched, reviewed, commented, etc. I love you all and you made every Wednesday something to look forward to.


	10. Chapter 10: True Love

**Chapter 10: True Love**

With Kaito's death, the garden began to wither around Miku as she cradled his body, trying to hang on to what remained of his body heat. Soon even that departed and he became as cold as the winter air around them. The dead rose petals carpeted the dirt around her.

"Are you finally happy?"

Where once Miku's voice held life and hope, now her every word became a bloody dagger. The man she'd loved, the person she'd intended to fight for… now a corpse in her arms. Miku, unable to change Kaito's tragic fate, became just another weapon for Luka to hurt him with.

'_Monsters break pretty things.'_

Those old words Miku lived by drifted back into her head as she stared at Kaito's still face. "You spent all those years breaking him, little by little… taking away every precious thing he had…his trust… his friends… his family… his songs… his love… until you finally destroyed what was left of him."

She didn't care that she was insulting the very woman that had killed Kaito because of her anger at Miku's tongue. She didn't care about anything. Kaito was gone.

'_Those with evil hearts look like monsters.'_

"He wasn't a monster… you are," she said.

At those words, Luka began to walk over to her. Reflexively, Miku clutched Kaito close. Even if she couldn't hurt him anymore… she couldn't bear this terrible woman even touching him after what she'd done to him. As the fairy towered over her, Miku expected anger. She expected Luka to strike her down, and she welcomed it. She'd failed Kaito – she no longer valued the life he'd protected by sacrificing his own.

What she hadn't expected from the fairy was tears.

* * *

><p>Luka forced herself to look upon Kaito's still form, in the arms of the woman she'd wanted dead. In the end, out of everything she'd intended to do she hadn't intended for the Prince to die. She'd intended for him to learn the folly of his actions and reform himself in light of his conduct towards her…<p>

"_You just want to keep him for yourself, whether he's happy or not!"_

"_You don't truly love him!"_

…to love her as she loved him.

She hadn't planned for the curse to become a trap. The thought never crossed her mind in those heated moments. She'd shouted the words simply thinking that Kaito would have to search for another who loved him truly. Of course she'd wanted him to understand how difficult that would be – he'd learn nothing otherwise, and of course she wanted him to understand just how powerful an immortal's heart was next to the mortal hearts he'd forsaken her for. Yet she'd never anticipated that her careless phrasing kept the two of them bound to each other… that her own weakness of heart left him no fair way to complete her terms.

Had her kinsmen known, all along? They'd never openly decried her actions, and she received no outright punishments. But they'd also made it quite clear that she'd fallen out of favor. When the curse began, the fairies who once supported her quickly departed her side. Soon… she'd been left to wander her world alone with her memories of the man she loved and the occasional glimpses into the world of the "Demon Prince" who failed time after time to find a person who could break her curse.

But then, this lonely winter, after enough time had passed, she'd presented her plan to the Queen – a way to allow the Prince relief from his suffering whilst still not allowing him to avoid his punishment. The Queen's acceptance of her proposal only led Luka to believe she'd been right all along. The "Demon Prince" deserved his punishment, and her love for him had been just.

And yet…

Luka had wanted to prove Miku wrong about her – of course she, a mighty fairy, could not be doubted. She intended to prove the rest of the Court wrong with her. Instead, in rage over the truth of her heart being laid bare… she'd killed the man she'd professed to love so truly she'd believed only herself to be capable of it.

She knelt down on the ground, trying to reach Miku's level. "You who profess to know so much about true love…" she said quietly, "Tell me. What is it?"

* * *

><p>What kind of question was that? Luka was the one so obsessed with it she doomed Kaito! But the fairy's eyes betrayed a rare moment of sincerity. Regret. Sorrow. And truly… Miku had nothing more to lose.<p>

"True love… is loving someone so much, you'd be willing to give up anything for their happiness."

Miku stroked Kaito's hair. "Even if you gain nothing from it…"

Just one more time, she wanted to see him smile… fangs and all. She'd give anything to see that happen… give anything…

'Wait… I understand what she's asking…'

Miku took a deep breath and met Luka's eyes. "You're an all-powerful fairy, right?!" Miku asked her, trying to temper her anger at her.

Luka nodded slowly. "But I don't see what that has to do with…"

"Then I offer up myself for Kaito!"

What _madness_ was this? She'd merely asked a question. Why did this human think she was asking for an exchange?

"My beauty! My voice! Anything, it's yours!"

Miku was begging her, willing to give up the things she loved for Kaito.

"What…what use are such trivial things as that?!" Luka said, in shock. What did this girl want from her?

The pig-tailed girl lowered her head. She ran her hands through Kaito's hair again. "You're right…" Miku said somberly, "I'm supposed to be trading for a person's life…"

"But I don't need – "

"…so take my life. For Kaito's."

* * *

><p>The magnitude of the girl's request left the ancient fairy speechless. "But you'll never see him again if I take that from you!"<p>

Miku looked up at Luka with tears in her eyes. "I… I know…" Miku said sadly, "But… you promised him somewhere safe to stay, where nobody would run away from him or hurt him. And that you'd try to keep him happy."

She clutched Kaito closer. "I can't give him those things," she said, her voice hitching, "You could even… you could just wipe his memory of me so he won't even know I'm gone."

Luka stood up and began walking away from Miku. This girl, this stupid human girl, saw nothing in the sacrifice Kaito had made. Did she not understand that if she died to bring him back, his death would have meant _nothing_?

But… she _did_ in fact have the power to trade a life for a life. An equivalent exchange. Nor would taking human memories pose any challenge to her. Finally, Kaito would belong to her entirely, and he'd never again stray from her with the memories of the girl who tried to lure him away…

….yet, Luka found that for some strange reason, the thought of having the very thing she wanted brought her no joy.

In truth… Luka realized he'd never truly be happy in the Fairy Court. Sure, perhaps she would finally be welcome among them again for having tried to make amends. Furthermore, the other Fair Folk wouldn't look upon him with disgust and fear as the humans did. Yet they'd always know he wasn't truly an immortal, keeping their distance or pitying him when they did speak to him. He'd always know his presence there meant he could not live among his own kind any longer. And he'd still know that Luka had stolen something from him as she spent every hour trying to keep him close. Even if she tried to erase Miku's presence from his memories, he'd feel the hollowness in his heart. He'd always know that somehow, he'd lost something precious to him. No matter what she gave him, the man she loved would spend an eternity wandering her world in sorrow.

So many lost days ago, Kaito had been a friend to the fairy that came and visited him in his garden. He'd trusted her with his deepest secrets. She'd made him pay dearly for his kindness. The last time she saw him, after placing him under the curse, what she read as simple fear in his eyes she understood now was something deeper – betrayal. She could never erase that sense of fear from his heart, even if she tried to alter his memories to forget how he came to be. And if she did that… what would be left of him? Would any of the beautiful sentiments the Prince once held remain if she tore out every memory that brought her displeasure?

She'd sworn for all these years she wanted "justice" but in the end… the humans were right. She wanted the love of the blue-haired prince who loved flowers at any cost. That day she'd confessed her soul to him, the pain of his rejection set off something powerful in her. The thought of him finding love in the arms of another person became a poison in her heart. Maybe she didn't intend justice at all… perhaps all she wanted was for him to suffer as much as she felt in that moment. Luka possessed more than enough power to use against him in the heat of her anger. In those wounded moments, she turned from a just being to a creature of spite. She spent the next hundred years obsessed with both hating him for hurting her and still yearning for his heart.

The idea of anyone breaking her curse filled her heart with jealousy – how dare any human profess to be as pure as an immortal fairy!? Yet as Miku gained the love and affection of Kaito and came closer and closer to passing the trial Luka set for him… she'd seethed quietly, trying to find some way to prove the girl's love insincere. How happy she'd felt when the curse refused to break... she'd been proven right! Even as she appeared to Kaito to provide him comfort in his sorrow and confusion, secretly she loved planting those doubts in his heart – of stealing away his confidence in anyone but she.

Yet just in front of her stood a human girl with no power to speak of, begging Luka to kill her so that the man she loved would live a better life. This girl knew what Luka had done to him – both to curse him and to kill him. But she wanted nothing, not even the chance to see him again… just knowing before she died that he would be happy was all she asked.

'Is this how the mortals feel love?' she thought to herself, staring at her hands, 'So fragile, so painful… so beautiful…?'

Her tears fell freely again, though she tried to conceal them from Miku. No… she could not accept what the girl was asking of her. She would not kill Miku for Kaito. But while Miku could not offer up anything to revive the fallen Demon Prince… Luka could. But it would cost her dearly, and even in spite of it, the Prince's heart would still never be hers.

But he would live, with the person he loved at his side.

* * *

><p>Luka seemed to be mulling over her request. Miku held Kaito's body close. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She knew if he'd realized what she wanted to do… he'd be so incredibly sad… she'd promised her father she would come home safe, but she would never see him again…<p>

"Do you promise to love him? For the rest of your life? No matter what happens to him, or to you? To spend your every moment together dedicated to his happiness?"

"Yes, of course!" Miku said, "But…I thought that…"

Luka turned to face her and Miku saw the fairy's tears had returned. "Don't break that promise," she said, her voice beginning to crack.

The air crackled with magical energy as Luka raised her hands up high. "The terms are set!" she chanted, "For the price of this man's life, I offer up the lifeblood of an immortal!"

The fairy's body began to glow bright white as the magic enveloped her. Kaito's body floated out of Miku's hands and for a brief moment, he was upright, as though facing Luka. Still shining white, she lightly caressed his face, her golden eyes sorrowful.

Luka's wings began to break apart, dissolving into shining pink rose petals that swirled around her body and then fluttered around the target of her magic. The delicate petals burst over his head, showering Kaito's body with shimmering dust. After the last petal burst, Kaito and Luka both lightly landed on the ground, Luka on her knees, Kaito on his back.

Miku rushed over to them. "Kaito! Luka!" she called out. Luka rose to her feet and began to shiver, as though she finally felt the cold for the first time, but her blue eyes rested solely on Kaito. Miku quickly scooped up the prince, her heart pounding. She felt warmth return to his body and saw his chest rise and fall with his steady breaths. After a few moments, Kaito began to stir and open his eyes. "M…Miku…" he whispered, his eyes focusing on his lover.

"KAITO!" Miku shouted, "Oh… by the spirits, I thought I'd never see you again..."

She hugged him close to her and cried into his shoulder. She felt him put his arms around her, his grip strengthening as his vigor returned. As the lovers embraced, Miku glanced up as she saw Luka wordlessly walk past the couple. She thought she spied a few tears still running down the fairy's face as she quietly made her way along the grassy path into the forest. Miku planned on saying something to the departing woman when Kaito was surrounded by an odd light. "Kaito!? What's wrong?!" she said, fearing the worst.

He didn't answer as he released Miku and looked at himself in a panic. He rose to his feet as the silver light spread, slowly engulfing his entire body. Miku shielded her eyes from the brilliance, desperately trying not to lose sight of him. As he was lifted up in the air, beams of light began to pierce the dark sky, casting away the gloom and revealing the morning sunrise. Suddenly, the magic exploded out of Kaito's body, sending a powerful shockwave through the entire castle grounds.

Kaito collapsed to his knees facing away from Miku, the light no longer surrounding him. Miku approached him carefully, afraid of any more nasty surprises. As the Prince stood, turning to face her, Miku covered her mouth and gasped. Kaito's deep blue eyes filled with worry at her reaction. "What's wrong?" he asked nervously, "What just happened to me?"

* * *

><p>"Kaito…look at yourself…"<p>

Kaito glanced down at his hands and saw clear skin and slender human fingers. He ran his tongue through his teeth and found them flat. Filled with excitement, he rubbed his hands through his hair and found the horns completely gone and his ears once again short and rounded.

"Miku!" he shouted with joy, "It worked! I'm finally free!"

He hugged Miku tightly and spun her around. His heart, once so heavy from years of the burden of his curse, felt light as a feather. After he'd given up all hope, consigned himself to his fate… it was finally over.

As he lowered Miku to the ground, he had only one question. "How? What did you do?"

"I… I don't know… I told Luka I'd give her anything to bring you back and…"

For a few moments, Kaito feared that Miku had made some unbreakable bargain with a fairy. "What did she take?!" he asked in a panic.

Miku shook her head. "Nothing… she told me I had nothing worth giving… but… she made me promise to stay with you before she… she…"

Kaito looked past Miku and saw Luka in the far off distance, still not looking back and too far for him to call out to her. But as he watched the swaying of her pink hair, he noticed immediately what was missing upon her back… the price she paid for the Prince who did not love her.

_Until one loves you as truly as I._

Miku may not have realized just how much Luka had given away. She no longer had a home. She would grow old and die. If she still possessed any magic, it would be far lesser than before. Without intending to, Miku had broken his curse by convincing Luka to sacrifice something precious in an act of true love.

…the same true love that Miku possessed for him.

Kaito drew the girl he loved back into himself, never wanting to part from her again. Miku was something precious to him, something he'd almost lost forever. He entwined one of his hands with hers, relishing the feeling of feeling skin against skin again, of how much larger her fingers felt now that his had returned to their original shape. But as he held her, a realization came over him. If _he_ was finally free…

"Gakupo!" he called out, "Gakupo, where are you?!"

The lovers parted as both of them searched for their friend. For a few moments, Kaito began to worry that something terrible had happened…that perhaps the mighty samurai had _not_ survived his fight with the fairy. But before his fears of the passing of his loyal friend consumed him for too long, he saw the familiar face of the samurai as he emerged from the hedges. Limping, but alive.

"Did I miss anything important?" Gakupo called out, smirking at the couple.

As the lovers eyes met, they both found themselves overtaken with uncontrollable laughter. The Prince couldn't even remember the last time he'd felt so light that he could manage such an outward expression of joy. But right now, after so much sorrow, so much torment… the release felt amazing. He had his freedom again and everything felt so hopeful and bright.

"Well, I'm glad you find my cluelessness entertaining," Gakupo drawled, "But if you'll excuse me, I'm standing outside in the cold and for the first time in a hundred years, I'm freezing. I'm going somewhere warmer."

* * *

><p>As their laughter subsided, Kaito grabbed hold of Miku's hand. His smile was so radiant Miku barely noticed the cold air as the sun continued to light the garden. "Miku… come with me…" he invited her.<p>

While the Prince was running as fast as he could, Miku smiled as she could finally keep up with him. He no longer possessed that incredible speed and strength. All around her, the roses appeared healthy and light, not the dried up husks from that brief period in which their keeper passed on. She glanced out over the trees and her eyes became wider. "Kaito! Where did all those houses come from!?" she shouted, as suddenly instead of seeing acres of overgrown forest she could make out towns and villages she'd never seen before. Kaito looked in her direction. "Shion! It's the kingdom of Shion!" he said, his voice filled with light and laughter, "It's always been out there! It's just been empty for a hundred years!"

As they ran through the entrance to the castle, Miku heard the startled voices of other humans begin to fade in around her. Slowly, the lonely and empty castle became full as mist began to settle and the final prisoners of the hundred year curse returned to their home. Guards, maids, nobles, the cooks, the servants…

As they rushed through the ball room, maids stared up at the decorations left behind from her and Kaito's party. To her joy, he'd left them as they were and they sparkled in the morning dew. But to the maids, they only created confusion.

"How long have those been up there!? This room was spotless a minute ago!"

'So they don't even realize how long they've been gone…' Miku thought to herself, 'How are we going to tell them it's been a hundred years!?'

But still, Kaito did not cease his run. From the way he kept dashing his head from left to right as he entered each room, she guessed there was someone in particular he sought. Finally, they ran through a hall to the throne room where a confused pair of guards approached the Prince.

"Prince Kaito!" one of them asked, attempting to sound authoritative, "We heard there was a monster in the castle!"

Kaito shook his head, but Miku felt a slight shiver in his hand before he responded. "The Demon Prince is gone…" he said cheerily, "Is the Queen in there?"

As one of them nodded in response, Kaito pushed past them with Miku in tow. "Mother! Mother, are you okay?!"

Only now did he break his grip on Miku's hand as he broke towards a woman with blonde hair and a light blue gown. The regal, glittering crown on her head was all Miku needed to know who this woman was. She seemed to be examining with some alarm the large hole Kaito had punched into the back of his own throne the night he'd sent Miku away. Upon hearing his footsteps, the queen looked to her son in surprise as he slowed his approach. Miku saw the sudden hesitation in his eyes and the way his hands trembled.

"Kaito? Oh, Kaito, thank goodness!" she said, relief washing across her face, "There was some commotion in the castle and I didn't know whether you were safe…"

Kaito just continued to stare at his mother as she appeared oblivious to the tears forming in his eyes. "They were shouting about a demon claiming to be you and I just had this awful premonition that something terrible happened to you, especially after that argument we had this morning… but…. here you stand, perfectly fine."

Wordlessly, Kaito approached his mother and hugged her tightly. Confused, she returned his hug. "Kaito…" she asked softly, "What's gotten into you? You're acting as if you haven't seen me in years…"

At those words, Miku saw his grip tighten over her. Now she too felt another round of tears – she'd never imagined such a happy event would cause _her_ to cry as well. As Kaito finally parted from his mother, the look in her eyes suggested that even if she didn't yet know the truth of the last hundred years, she understood that her son had suffered through something terrible.

Finally, the queen's gaze fell upon Miku. With a start, Miku wiped the tears from her own eyes and politely curtsied to the royal. "Kaito… who is this girl?" she asked, "She looks like a peasant…"

Kaito walked over to Miku and placed his arm around her. "Mother…" he said softly, "This is Miku Hatsune, of Melodia. Everyone in this castle owes their lives to her."

* * *

><p>Trying to explain the incredible amount of lost time to the people of Castle Shion was not easy, nor was explaining the truth of the "Demon Prince" to them. Though Kaito had desired to simply forget what had happened to him, too many people had seen him before they vanished. They deserved the truth. Fortunately for him, his old servants seemed willing to stand by his family and not one deserted. Possibly out of respect, possibly because they had nowhere else to go in this strange new world. Possibly because so many were touched when they learned of how Miku's love for Kaito saved them from the curse. For his part, Prince Kaito pledged they would all be taken care of – though he'd been repeatedly assured his enchantment was not his fault, he felt responsible for how many people were affected by it.<p>

In the hundred years since the kingdom lay empty, for Shion to suddenly reappear as if lost in a dream caused quite a stir. Many of the other territories simply assumed the kingdom had been conquered or lost to the violent wars. Those closer to it suspected dark magic – Miku would later suspect that perhaps the original stories of the "Demon Prince" arose from people who'd survived the fall of Shion but still knew nothing of how it came to be swallowed up by magic. For the people living in the kingdom that suddenly found a hundred years gone, Kaito had originally expected they would blame him and want him gone.

What he'd not suspected was how swiftly the story of a kingdom saved by the love of a peasant girl for a monster would spread to people eager for answers. Most were so moved by the story of a fairy's cruel heart turned to sacrifice by just the words of a simple human girl that most considered the Prince's freedom from his curse a divine event. Suddenly Miku went from just being an aspiring songstress to a woman about to turn into a legend of her own. "At least they always talk up my beauty," she'd say with a sly smile.

The Queen of Shion spent much of the initial months after the end of her kingdom's enchantment trying to reforge her alliances all over again. The land no longer writhed with war, and she no longer felt the need to wage it pointlessly. Through some canny political maneuvering and relying on old pacts and contracts, Shion was running like a well-oiled machine, as if it had never ceased to exist at all. This suited her just fine - in the aftermath of the lost time with her son, she cared far more about her family now than she had before her disappearance. Despite the fact that Kaito's virtual isolation was not her doing, she felt horrified at how long he'd spent alone, reviled and in fear. She resolved to spend far more time with her son, trying to make up for all the time he'd spent entirely without her.

Which also meant the Queen spent a lot of time getting to know her future daughter-in-law. Miku had been nervous to meet Kaito's mother, but the woman proved to be a kind soul, if stern and a bit traditional. Though she'd long ago wanted her son to marry a noble and she had received several tempting offers for territory in exchange for him marrying into a prominent family, she could not forgot the massive debt her family owed the merchant's daughter. The two got along so well at times Miku felt the Queen was a second mother to her and not just her mother-in-law.

Miku's joyous homecoming to Melodia, her new fiancé at her side, proved quite the spectacle. She'd had to tell the story about Kaito so many times it became a habit. She was certain several of the villagers didn't entirely believe that the handsome, soft-spoken royal she'd brought to town could truly be the monstrous subject of children's tales, even if the sudden re-emergence of his entire kingdom mere miles away proved her tale to be true. Her father seemed to doubt this as well – upon meeting Kaito for the first time, he'd showered the young man with praise for keeping his daughter safe over the long winter. He came away from the first visit with his future son-in-law refusing to believe any ill word about Kaito, and the two became fast friends. But Miku's friends needed no convincing of the truth of the story. The Kagamines nearly ran Kaito ragged with questions about "The Demon Prince," a curiosity the Prince endured given their own small part in his newfound freedom. Miku and her "Big Sis" agreed – there were going to be stories about him to last several generations.

The entire trip, Gakupo rarely strayed too far from the lovers' sides. Much as he'd pledged a life of loyalty to Kaito, that pledge now extended to Miku as well. Not simply because she was soon to be Kaito's wife and a royal herself - but also because the girl's bravery and purity of heart had more than proven her worthy of his blade. Though Miku and Kaito frequently encouraged him to try and mingle with the humans he could now actually speak to, he seemed largely content to watch from the sidelines. Kaito personally suspected that his lack of being able to interact with others for so long had gotten him used to keeping to himself. But Miku remained curious about the samurai, given that he'd spent so much time observing her from the shadows and yet she knew nothing of him. Eventually, Miku finally convinced him to prove that he was _really_ the "Dancing Samurai" from Kaito's stories. After his energetic performance, he'd found himself swamped by young women, which finally forced him to break out of his own shell and engage with other people again.

* * *

><p>"<em>Dimly illuminating the wooden platform on the stage, I played notes on the parquetry..."<em>

As the weeks passed and seasons changed, the summer of Miku and Kaito's marriage began to approach. One fine morning, Miku and her future husband spent their time in their usual routine – taking care of the eternal garden, their faithful knight and friend Gakupo hovering close by.

"There you go, roses, drink up!"

Miku carefully dumped a bucket of water at the base of a blue rose bush. "Stay strong, okay?"

"_Morning comes as if it were the thawing of spring, if our frozen love someday flows hot, then I'll embrace you in the rain…"_

She giggled to herself as she enjoyed the pleasant sound of her Prince's voice. Kaito often broke into song these days when he was busy in his garden – sometimes she joined him, and they'd put on quite the spectacle amongst the blossoms. But right now, she just wanted to bask in the beauty of her dear Prince's melody.

"_But the rain, continuing to fall, at last washed it away, as if it were a brilliantly covered camellia flower in the snow…"_

The sound of girls cooing interrupted Miku's bliss. She poked her head through a hedge to spy some of the younger maids and servants had gathered around just out of Kaito's sight. From the few words she could overhear, they were trying to catch his morning song.

'What?! The nerve! How dare they sneak up on him like that!' she fumed.

"_If I someday awaken from this transient dream, I'll search for you, I wonder where I'd head to…"_

She was about to chase them off when she heard an unfamiliar voice behind her. "Gettin' jealous already?"

Miku ducked back out of the hedge and turned around to see an odd looking girl with green hair and a short orange and yellow dress. She had a pair of red roses tucked into her hair. But it wasn't her hair that Miku was focusing on.

She was more interested in the pair of giant red butterfly wings on the girl's back and the playful smile on her lips. Miku's bucket clattered to the ground, the sound of which shook Kaito from his performance. In the blink of an eye, Gakupo had leapt in front of her, his sword partially drawn. "You won't be allowed to hurt Lady Miku!" he declared.

"Sheesh, you really don't know how to talk to us fairies, do you?" the girl said, shaking her head, "That's a shame, I was hoping to get along with you better."

Miku quickly rushed to the startled Kaito's side. She searched his face for any sign of alarm – while he certainly appeared surprised, he didn't seem frightened of the fairy either. "I'm sorry, miss," he finally spoke, "Surely you can understand our caution given our most… recent… encounter with the Fair Folk."

* * *

><p>Kaito watched the unusual girl, trying to keep his calm. If the fairies meant to punish himself or Miku for Luka's loss of her place amongst their court, they would not have waited this long. Whatever drew this woman into this garden, she likely meant no malice.<p>

The fairy huffed, rolling her eyes. "Sheesh, one fairy goes nutso and turns you into a monster for a hundred years, and now you don't trust any of us!"

"Perhaps an introduction is in order then, miss?" he said, smiling peacefully at her, "I imagine it would be a lot easier to consider you friendly once we know you better."

At the Prince's words, the fairy gave an oddly formal curtsy given her less than formal mode of dress. "I'm Gumi Megpoid, representative of the Fairy Court," she said, "So that gets the boring stuff out of the way."

"Are you here because of Luka?" Miku asked, still quaking as she gripped Kaito's hand for support.

Gumi laughed at the idea. "I guess I kind of am," she said, winking at Miku, "I mean, thanks to you, she's not one of us anymore, so they had me take over for her as our faithful representative."

Miku swallowed again. "Am I going to be punished?" she said, "I swear, I didn't try to hurt her, I just wanted Kaito back and I totally offered myself first and…"

Gumi burst into wild laughter. "Mab's wing, you're so easy to mess with!" the girl laughed, "I'm just here to ensure you're upholding your pact and all."

'I see…' Kaito realized quietly, 'They've acknowledged Miku's place here, so they're checking up on her.' Now he felt far calmer, though he needed to find a way to tell Miku – though he knew he'd have no success getting Gakupo to stand down even with a few kind words. He watched as Gumi marched over to the rose bush Miku had just tended to and gave the rose a sniff. "Hey, not bad for a greenhorn," she remarked, "Lighten up a little on the water though, you're going to drown it when the rains hit in a month."

"My mother and I have been teaching her everything we know," Kaito interrupted, "Miku's been a fast learner."

Gumi smiled, again winking at Miku – who at this point didn't shrink back. "Like I said… it's not bad… you'll get better!" she added, "Even though you're not _technically_ a royal yet, you are his fiancé… so you're fine."

"…is Luka okay?"

Finally, Miku managed to ask something to shake up Gumi, who looked genuinely surprised at the question. "You're seriously asking about _her_? After everything she put you guys through?"

In truth, Kaito's thoughts had often drifted to his former friend and former foe. She'd spoken not a word to either of them in her departure, and no stories of her arose since. "I... I wanted to know as well," Kaito admitted, for a moment looking away from Gumi as he tried to suppress the brief reappearance of the awful memories of what he'd simply started to call "The Hundred Years".

Gumi put her hands up, signaling a lack of answers. "She's not one of us anymore, so we don't check in on her or anything," she explained, "Knowing her though, she's off on a vision quest or something. It's not really our job to keep up with her though."

Miku pressed her hands to her heart. "I hope she finds what she's looking for…"

In truth… in spite of how he'd suffered for so long living as "The Demon Prince," Kaito found himself hoping Luka could make the best of her "second chance" as well. In the back of his mind, he still found himself remembering the days they'd once shared in the garden, as friends.

Gumi shook her head as she tried to contemplate what Miku just told her. "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" she exclaimed, "Look, I doubt you'll see her again, but… if I know Luka, she'll take care of herself out there. Maybe she'll be off looking for true love like you taught her to."

Kaito worried as he saw Gakupo appeared to be having trouble keeping silent in front of Gumi's flippant attitude. As the only other person that actually experienced the entirety "The Hundred Years" with him, he sympathized with the samurai's feelings.

"Oh! I'm almost forgot, there's a message for you, from the Fairy Queen Herself!" Gumi said, "She wants you all to know that she was impressed with the tenacity and strength you all showed. And she said every one of the Immortals offers you their blessings for your upcoming wedding."

"…and that's really all the fairies have to say?"

Finally, Gakupo seemed to have had his fill of Gumi. "One of your Court punished my lord and everyone in Shion for a minor slight against her. Now you expect to show up and be welcomed as if you deserve to be venerated for it?"

Gumi engaged in a stare down with the samurai. Kaito's mind raced as he tried to think of what he could do to defuse the situation when suddenly Gumi's angry glare was replaced by a sly smile. "You know, you're a total jerk, but I didn't expect you to be this cute."

At that, the normally unflappable Gakupo wavered in his stance – clearly he'd not expected the fairy to start _flirting_ with him. "Okay fine, since you're a _cute_ jerk, I won't stay mad."

For just a moment, Kaito realized that his serious, job-oriented friend had _blushed_. Gumi had managed to completely disarm his aggression and place him on the defensive. "Fine, though, if you're gonna be a stickler about it… I suppose you guys do deserve to know."

She took a deep breath and her energetic expressions were finally replaced by a more serious face. "We all knew about the curse. We just couldn't do anything about it. When a fairy lays down her terms like that… even the Queen herself can't just snap her fingers and make it go away."

She held up her hands, shaking her head. "And Luka really dropped a whammy of a curse on you… we all knew you'd been wronged. But we didn't even have a way to force it to end sooner – a love spell wouldn't really be 'true love' of any sort, would it?"

Kaito finally became aware of how tightly he was gripping Miku's hand. He hadn't expected to have to relive all of it again, not today. He started to release the poor girl, only for her to place one arm around him, as if she knew he needed her strength. In response, he placed his own arm around her as well, trying to remind himself that the curse was past, and he'd never go back to living as he had during "The Hundred Years" again.

Gumi seemed unaware of how much her story was upsetting him. "Trust me though… even if we couldn't intervene to help you directly… well, we found other ways…"

"We saw no sign of any of your kind besides Luka the entire hundred years," Gakupo said, still sounding accusatory but now with far less volume.

At that remark, that sneaky smile crept back on Gumi's face. "What makes you think you had to see us for that to happen?"

She crossed her arms, her smile turning into a wide grin. "Surely you wondered how in the world people learned about 'The Demon Prince' and the curse when you two were the _only_ two people who should have known about that?!"

"What!? There were FAIRIES telling all those stories!?" Miku exclaimed.

Finally, he understood – in their own small way, the fairies tried to ensure he was never truly forgotten even as he lived in relative solitude. "I see…" Kaito said aloud, "You couldn't help me… so you made sure humans knew what happened to ensure the right person would eventually seek me out…"

…just as Miku had. Not directly, but her curiosity about the Demon Prince stories _had_ gotten her into his castle. Despite the fact she'd initially been frightened of him, her knowledge of the stories of his curse held her interest… long enough for her to finally free him. "So that's why Len knew the exact words of the curse…" Miku said aloud, clearly coming to the same conclusion.

Gumi laughed. "See? You're getting it! And look, it all worked out in the end!"

Of course Kaito found himself at odds with that statement – he'd spend the rest of his life with the burden of "The Hundred Years". Yet… if he'd never been cursed, if he'd not lasted a hundred years… he would never have met Miku. It was hard to say if finding his true love was worth all that lost time, but it did provide him some comfort that his patience had led him to the company of such a wonderful person.

"… you tried to take him to the Fairy Court," Gakupo cut in.

"We told Luka she was allowed to bring you," Gumi huffed, her cheeks puffing out, "We knew you weren't going to show up. We had enough faith in you for that. 'Sides, like I said – it all worked out! And hey, you know you never would have lifted that curse if you hadn't met her again and this human girl hadn't sweet talked her!"

Clearly, Gumi wasn't going to feel much more in the way of remorse – Kaito had already seen the limits of that. He'd have to draw some comfort in knowing the fairies wished amends. He still owed them for the garden that had lured Miku so close and sustained his food supplies for so long.

"Look… point is… you three humans really impressed the Queen," Gumi said, wrapping things up, "She wanted to extend her regards to you. And don't think we're going to let this be forgotten either, for humans OR fairies. The Queen has strictly forbidden any future 'punishments' from being doled out, so this won't be repeating."

As the girl began to bounce on her heels waiting for some kind of response, Kaito found he only had one left to give.

"If any of the Fair Folk wish to attend the royal wedding, they will be welcomed as honored guests."

To Kaito's relief, Gakupo didn't seem terribly upset at his choice – while he knew the samurai would never be satisfied with their answers, he was willing to defer to Kaito's judgment. Besides… he merely wished to move on from "The Hundred Years". At least he could prevent another incident by simply living out his life by example.

"D'awww, you really are a sweetie, ain't ya?" Gumi said, tossing a playful wink at him, "Nice voice on you too!"

Now Kaito understood how easily this woman could embarrass him – and Miku's more possessive grip on him let him know that his beloved wasn't ignorant of the fairy's tone. "So, I guess the Queen will be showing up for your wedding… and probably the next christening ceremony in the winter too…"

"Christening ceremony?" Kaito and Miku simultaneously. Suddenly Kaito's stomach lurched as the magnitude of Gumi's implications reached him. Miku sprang away from him, her hands on her abdomen and her face redder than a tomato.

When Gumi let out a large hoot, though, Kaito realized she'd been teasing the two of them again. "Gotcha!" she said. "I made that last part up. But she will be there, when you two get around to it."

The green haired fairy skipped away, red rose petals and green butterflies in her wake. Before she vanished, she winked at Gakupo again and blew him a kiss. Again, Kaito noted the irritation in his face… and again the transient redness that appeared and vanished from his face. Gumi had managed to thoroughly embarrass all three of them on a "diplomatic" errand.

"That… that woman… may be the most devious of them all…" the samurai remarked.

Kaito tried to take stock of all that had just transpired. In spite of being relentlessly taunted by an odd fairy, he now had the comfort of knowing that his family was safe. And hopefully, any future family members as well. Everything he'd suffered… it had been turned to good in the end.

Miku seemed to recover from her momentary shock at Gumi's last prank and slowly approached Kaito, worry in her eyes. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked.

Reliving the past was not pleasant… but now Kaito's mind was back in the present. He was human… he would _stay_ human. Nothing could part him from Miku ever again. He reached forward and placed his arms around his lovely fiancé, reminding himself of how lucky he felt to have her. Once he'd been afraid to so much as touch her, feeling unworthy of being near her. Now… he was her Prince.

And that simple joy quickly washed away any fears and doubts he had.

As the two of them pulled in for a kiss, they were interrupted by the sound of the Queen's voice in the garden. The two separated as they approached her. The older woman put a hand to her face and chuckled. "Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt you two…"

Kaito rubbed the back of his head. "It's all fine," he said, "How was your trip to Arlisia?"

"The Merchant's Guild is perfectly willing to hand over the bureaucratic and military affairs to us," the Queen noted, "As long as we stay out of their freedom to trade. Frankly, it sounds like they were rather willing to have a stronger military protect them than doing it all themselves. I was able to appeal using some of our old contracts… well, and I suppose it didn't help that Miku is my future daughter-in-law."

The queen smiled knowingly at Miku. "The newest Diva of Arlisia."

* * *

><p>The audience listened with rapt attention as Miku, the glamorous soloist, serenaded the theater with her glorious melody. Her snow-white gown glowed under the soft aura of the stage lights.<p>

As she finished her song, the audience erupted into thundering applause. Miku gracefully bowed towards her adoring public as red roses showered the stage.

After giving her audience the attention they deserved, she began her exit from the stage. Her steps quickened as she saw the silhouette of her beloved behind the curtains. She began to run with such eagerness that she unintentionally knocked over one of her co-stars in her haste. His prop crown tumbled from his head, a box of false jewels spilling across the wooden floor.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry!" she whispered.

She knelt down and quickly scrambled to help him retrieve his props. The "prince" repositioned the crown on his head. "You've got to be more careful," he said, taking the full box from her.

"Break a leg!" she whispered as he took to the stage.

After ensuring he made it on stage correctly, Miku turned and ran into the arms of the man she loved. Kaito. "You really came… and you did it just like I said!" she squealed, her voice quiet to try and not distract her co-stars.

Kaito gave his lover a squeeze and a bright warm smile. "I thought you'd want me in the audience for your solo debut…" he whispered, "I mean… I couldn't exactly throw anything to you from out there if I'm over here…"

From his coat he pulled out a blue rose and gently tucked it into her hair. "I hope this is good enough…"

As the two embraced again, Miku's thoughts drifted back to that winter night when Kaito finally began to bring her into a hint of the life he'd lived over "The Hundred Years". The sadness, the fear, the loneliness in those crimson and black eyes. Now, here he stood with her, surrounded by humans and able to stand and watch his beloved sing. Those eyes, now brilliant sapphires, sparkled with happiness. When he smiled… every smile was genuine and filled with hope.

As the lovers departed backstage to return to her new home, she felt deliriously happy. She'd fought for the man she loved and the right to live her life by his side… and she'd won. She'd fought to become a diva, and she'd succeeded. Sure it was just a small part in the show… but she'd made it happen.

She saw her "shadow" of Gakupo meet up with the two of them. "Your voice carried all the way back here," he remarked.

"You're going to be a critic now?" Miku said, winking at him.

All winter, the samurai had watched silently, trying to keep both she and Kaito safe from all harm without ever being able to be acknowledged. Ever since his curse shattered, she felt safer just knowing he was around. Even if he tried her patience from time to time, she knew his loyalty to herself and her fiancé was solid as stone.

As the Princess-to-be, her dear Prince, and their devoted knight entered a waiting carriage, the happy couple took a seat together. Gakupo seated himself across from them, his eyes on the exits and the road. Miku happily leaned into Kaito, who felt so much more relaxed and at ease than he ever had as the Demon Prince when he'd struggled to keep so many secrets from her.

"Was this everything you hoped for?"

Miku glanced up, Kaito looking to her for her answer. "Your dreams… is this what you wanted?"

The diva smiled at her beloved. "I never expected it to turn out like this…" she said, "But this is… so much better…"

The "Demon Prince" would fade into only a story… maybe perhaps a new story would take its place instead. But Kaito… Kaito was real.

And so Miku, the glamorous Diva, kissed Kaito, the Prince of Shion.

**THE END**

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

And then the carriage crashed and burned and everyone DIED!

No, no, no. Sorry, I just can't drop a cliffhanger during the last chapter now can I? ;) I'm kind of surprised at the reaction I got last week - I knew killing Kaito would be a great cliffhanger leading into the ending, I just didn't think it was the most evil thing I'd done to him. Granting him his happiness and everything he ever wanted, then stealing it from him moments later felt worse to me. Regardless, I'm glad that as this story ran, I got you guys so engaged with his story. And after all those miseries heaped upon miseries… our Beast finally has his happy ending with his Beauty.

Pretty much from the beginning of planning this, I knew the fairy would need to have a change of heart. But it would still have to tie back into the true love of the protagonists. I didn't see any way for Luka to get to that point without her destroying Kaito and suffering the inevitable consequence of what she'd done. It couldn't be as simple as Miku saying "I love Kaito" and Luka going "Aw, shucks, okay." I wanted her to still have a lasting punishment for what she'd done… But also the opportunity for a second chance. I like to think she found a happiness of her own somehow.

And if you guys were wondering if I forgot Gumi exists… nope. I saved her for last. Now she can torment Gakupo for the rest of his life! Wait, maybe he didn't get a happy ending…

I just want to thank everyone who followed this story for so long. I only hope this ending was worth the wait. You've all been worth writing for. I'm happy to give you the resolution to this journey, though I am more than a little sad to leave these characters behind. Sure there will always be more Vocaloid stories, but they won't be the exact same people and settings, so it really is goodbye in a sense.

Expect me to write a new Vocaloid story soon, though – I can't leave Kaito and Miku alone for too long ;) Don't forget to follow my author profile so you don't miss my next story! There's some teaser summaries on my profile as well as in my journals on DeviantArt, so if you're curious what I intend to drop next, there you go.

UPDATE: How did I forget to leave this out?! Kaito was singing Crescent Moon. Kaito. Dude. Sing happier songs. You got a happy ending, you can stop the bummer songs.


End file.
